Teenage Rhapsodies
by Alois21
Summary: Nine teenagers together for one summer vacation, away from their charas for 30 days with their raging, uncontrollable hormones. Will love find it's way or will hormone HAVE it's way? AmuTo KuTau RimaHiko KaYa and with an unexpected surprise from Nagihiko
1. Prologue: The Chara Day Care

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara**

_**One chara-less summer...**_

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_**Teenage Rhapsodies: Prologue**_

She strolled with her bag tossed over her shoulders. Students admiringly stared at her, both upperclassmen and lowerclassmen. Nonchalantly, as if the world was just a big playroom, she continued to walk outwards. The final bell rang a few minutes ago. With a flip of her bubblegum pink hair, previous Seiyo Academy's Joker, Hinamori Amu, exited the school, four Charas floating about. Finally, summer break!

Amu was no longer an elementary student. She would actually be high school student this spring. Her previous red and black patterned skirt was now replaced with green and black checkered marks that partnered with green and black pants of the school Kukai Souma attended as a middle school kid.

"Freedom at last!" Ran exclaimed, punching the air with pompom-occupied hands. Her bright pink hair bounced as she cheered and cheered on the new found atmosphere, outside the claustrophobic four-cornered room with one self-occupied teacher and about 25 sleepy students. Ran, clad in her usual cheerleader getup, faced her owner and jovially smiled, "What's next, Amu-chan?" she asked.

"Not much," Amu said in a hushed voice, "But you guys will be up for some things" the girl smirked, a mischievous glint sparkling in her golden eyes. For some reason, the four Charas felt intimidated and fearful about the way their owner was acting. Dia, being the matured chara she was, floated towards her owner and solemnly asked,

"What do you mean, Amu-chan?" in her trademark singer outfit, Dia eyed the girl inquisitively. Miki in her usual artist clothes, Suu still fashioning her maid-cook getup, and Ran with her cheerleader attire, also floated closer towards the happy chara bearer. Amu smiled at each of them, careful not to arouse suspicion of talking to blank air from other students.

"Oh not much…" was her reply. Suu spoke this time,

"Do you have some things planned, Amu-chan?" Suu asked. Amu looked at her momentarily, and then cast her glance towards her friends who were waiting for her by the school gate. Amu did not voice a reply; instead, she left them to their thoughts with a sly smirk that stirred up even more curiosity from the four,

"You'll see" Amu whispered. She caught up quickly with the other guardians before she turned to them, "I'll explain everything later" at this, each guardian turned to their respective chara, giving them all a nod. The charas, being left bewildered and clueless, all eyed each other, then decided to play along with whatever mischief their bearers were up to.

"I sure hope it's nothing bad" Pepe remarked, glancing quickly at her hyperactive bearer. Kiseki nodded in agreement, just as Kusukusu laughed, "If even Tadase is up for it, then I guess it won't be anything…too…well…rash…" the baby chara continued, her matured side showing.

"You guys are all worrying too much" Rhythm, still sporting his rapper outfit, cut in, and placed an arm around Kiseki's shoulder. The king chara, clad in his regal clothes, tried pry away the Jack's chara's hands. Unfortunately for him, Rhythm was much stronger than he was; his efforts did not even made the other chara's hand bulge, much to his chagrin. He then resorted to reprimanding him,

"Get your filthy hands off me, commoner!" he bellowed, "No one touches the king!" the chara fumed. Rhythm retrieved his hand and backed away slowly, mocking surrender by raising both hands up,

"Easy there, tiger, I was just having fun" he said. Kiseki was about to holler some insults at him when Yaya's energetic voice rang through the air. All charas intently listened to the Ace. Rhythm took this moment to run away from the angered 'king' and sat on Nagihiko's shoulder.

"Alright, we're here!" Yaya announced. Pepe floated closer to her owner then eyed the place curiously,

"Where exactly is here, Yaya-chan?" Pepe inquired. The rest of the charas' interest piqued whilst their bearers feigned innocence,

"Well…this is…" Yaya paused for dramatic effects, "THE CHARA DAY CARE!" she hollered gleefully, clapping her hands a couple of times after her announcement. Shocked, the charas remained silent for quite a while, before blowing up into a series of expected questions, each thrown at to their respective owners. It was an uneven synchrony of questions that created an orchestra of noise audible only to their bearers; the most dominant of all the tiny, piping voices was yet to be defined, for their shouts all overwhelmed the others.

But after quite some time, it was Kiseki's voice that stood out the most, "WHAT THE HELL TADASE!?" he demanded, his kingly attitude immediately forgotten. Clutching his scepter tightly in one hand, Kiseki glowered at the blonde, princely-figure, "_THIS _IS WHERE YOU BRING ME TO!? A STUPID DAY CARE!! AND WHAT THE HELL IS IT WITH ALL THIS PINK!?"

"Shut up, you noisy idiot!" Kiseki felt a strong kick behind him that sent him flying in midair. He glared at the new intruder,

"What the--? Kicking a king? How dare you!" Kiseki fumed. The intruder laughed heartily,

"Oh shut up, brat. It's not like we all wanted to be here, right Eru?" Iru, wearing her devil outfit, glanced sideways towards the angel figure. Eru nodded in agreement; she still wore her angel getup, "Anyways, Utau said she'll be here later. Schools' finally out, eh?" Iru continued blabbing on. Eru flew over to Kiseki and spewed out her apologies,

"My apologies for Iru's behavior" flustered, but at the same time, pleased, over the formality, Kiseki bowed once before he dismissed the 'commoner'. A little while later, the guardians entered the establishment. Adorned by pink and white, frilly ornaments, the walls were painted with a bubbly hue of yellow, a few sky blue shades outlining the wall. The ceiling was painted with white, a sparkling chandelier hanging atop. The polished, wooden floor was covered by a circular carpet in pink.

The shop attendant, a man around his late 40s, looked up from the toy ship he was assembling inside a glass bottle and smiled at them. He pushed his spectacles upward towards his nose and flashed them a grin, "Welcome to Chara Day Care! Name please?"

It was Tadase who spoke, "Hotori, Mr." he said politely. The man nodded before skimming through a few pages of the record book in front of him. Smiling once again, he turned to them and then spoke,

"Of course, you're the one who booked about a month's worth of babysitting, am I right?" he asked. Yaya nodded vigorously before proceeding to introduce each chara and their respective bearers.

"Finally, this here's Iru and Eru. Their owner isn't here yet…" she explained, grinning like a child. Iru and Eru both stiffened momentarily before breaking into their own grins (for Iru's case, it's a smirk)

"That's what you think" Iru murmured. The guardians and their charas all eyed the devil-figure. Eru giggled quietly to her own, "Utau-chan is just about here…now" as if on cue, the door shop flew open and a beautiful teenager blonde walked in. Utau was wearing her shades, a red tank top, skinny jeans and red flats. She held her jacket in one hand while she gracefully flipped some of her long, pig-tailed locks. Removing her shades and perching it on top of her head, Utau's blazing amethyst eyes glared at them,

"Thanks for taking care of these two" she said monotonously, "let's go. We don't have forever" _typical Utau_ the guardians sweat-dropped. Shrugging, the idol strutted towards the man who seemed to have his breath knocked out of him, "Alright old geezer;"—no respect or honorifics whatsoever—"let's get this over with. For almost a month, you'll be babysitting our charas, got that?" the man nodded,

"Y-Yes, I was informed" he said,

Utau nodded as well, "Good. Don't do anything stupid to our charas. We'll know. Oh yeah, one more thing, aside from our charas, here's some additional" Utau pulled out a medium-sized box from her purse. Removing the lid, two familiar charas stumbled out, panting quite hard,

"What the hell, lady!? I swear…" Daichi, Kukai Souma's chara cussed as his golden-auburn eyes narrowed threateningly at the blonde. Scoffing, Utau rolled her eyes heavenward. The other chara still seemed dazed, "Hey dude, snap out of it!" Daichi violently shook Yoru awake. The cat chara snapped,

"Hey watch it! And _you_" he, too, seethed and glowered at Utau, "What's the biggie, nya!?" he demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Utau. Again, the idol scoffed,

"Here they are. If they cause any trouble, just inform as right away, okay?" the man nodded. Utau motioned for the charas to line up. Immediately, 13 charas floated towards the man. Counting them the man tuned towards the bearer with a smile, he pushed his spectacles up.

"Nice charas you have here" he chuckled meekly. The guardians nodded, eager to get away, "Well little ones, since you seem lost, I'll explain everything later. For now, say good bye to your owners" he said. each chara drifted towards their respective bearer. The guardians plus the idol each handed them small luggage containing some necessities and memento. Curious, the little characters looked up with eyes sparkling with inquisitiveness,

"He'll explain everything to you later" Amu replied, eyeing her own charas, "For now, I'd like to tell you that we won't be seeing each other for a month" she said, masking her sadness perfectly. Forcing a smile, Amu gave her charas one last peck on the head before motioning them to drift towards the man. Albeit reluctant, the four charas did as they were told,

"The same goes with the rest of you" Tadase said. Although sad, Kiseki nodded his head proudly then clutched his scepter and pointed it to Tadase,

"Don't do anything stupid, okay?" he decided that not asking anything would be best. Tadase was growing up; there was nothing he could do about it. Sooner or later, the charas were fully aware; they would all have to disappear, because their bearers were no longer deemed as 'kids'. If luck would be on their side, they would last longer like Yoru.

"Will you explain everything to us, Amu-chan?" Miki, who never doubted Amu's choices, finally asked. Amu shook her head, "What do you mean?" the blue head probed. Amu smiled apologetically,

"He will explain everything; for now, be good. Besides, we'll only be losing physical contact! I promise you we'll call everyday, alright? Don't do anything foolish, okay? I want this vacation to be fun for all of us, alright?" Amu said, 'Cool and Spicy' taking over once again. Miki sweat dropped, Amu really does know how to cool her nerves down.

"Alright…" albeit a bit doubting, Ran nonetheless agreed. Miki and the rest of the gang's charas nodded. Bidding their one last goodbye, the guardians and Utau exited the room, "So, mind explaining things to us, Mr.?" Ran asked.

"Well you see, this is no ordinary day care"

"We can see that, given the fact that you can actually _see _and _talk _to us" Kiseki scoffed. The man was about to say something when a person reentered. The shop bell rang, signaling the arrival of the person. Looking up, Rhythm was the one who spoke,

"Oh, Nagihiko! What brings you here?" he asked.

"I nearly forgot them!" Nagihiko cried. He brought out a medium-sized box and removed the lid. Two angry charas flitted outwards. While the male chara composed himself quickly, the female chara began yelling at Nagihiko,

"You idiot! Do you know how suffocating that friggen box was!? Do you!? Huh, punk, do ya, do ya, do ya!?!"

"Easy, Temari, I didn't mean to" Nagihiko backed away. Rhythm patted Temari's shoulder,

"He's right you know" calming down a little bit, Temari huffed then glared at Nagihiko,

"Don't think you're off the cap so easily, brat" Temari glowered, "Just you wait; after you get back, you'll be dead" she threatened. Nagihiko just timidly nodded. Temari, after a few breaths, reverted back to her normal, lady-like composed self. She eyed the tremling, old man before bowing politely "Konichiwa, watashi no Temari des, dozoyoroshikun onegaishimas" she said. The man gave an equally polite nod.

"And I'm Musashi" said the samurai figure. Nodding once again, the man decided to introduce himself to the charas. After turning once to Nagihiko, the purple-haired lad decided it was time to leave again,

"See ya guys! And be nice, Temari" he warned. Temari glared momentarily before smiling sweetly; something that scared the wits out of her bearer,

"Hai, Nagihiko" she said. Sweat-dropping, Nagihiko stormed out of the room, fearing the wrath of the chara clad in a furisode.

"Well, my name is Takahashi Shuichi **(1)**" the man began, "this shop has been made so that charas such as you would be taken care of whilst your owner is away. Now, for your case, you'd be here for about a month" Shuichi explained, "Anyway, for a bit of history, this shop is a lot older than you think, even I don't know when it was opened up, but let me tell you that it was opened up for the sake—originally—of 'orphaned;"—air quotes—"charas. Meaning, those who lost their owners, or those who became x eggs, got purified but unable to return to their respective bearers; but as the years pass by…well, let's just say that this is what it turned out".

"I…see…" Miki said, "Technically, we're 'orphans' for now, right?" the blue-head asked, using air quotes to emphasize her point. Shuichi nodded, "But why did our owners leave us?"

"I'd like to know that too" Musashi quietly murmured to himself. Daichi, who heard this, nodded.

"Well, let's just say that maybe they want some quiet time"

Pepe was clearly offended, "You mean we cause havoc on them…d-d-destroy their p-peace?" she was nearly spilling her tears when Dia consoled her,

"No, no, no that's not it" Shuichi chuckled, "They just needed some…well…how should I put it…?" the man struggled with words. Musashi sighed, pushing up his spectacles; he eyed the man carefully,

"I don't know what's going on in their heads but if they were desperate enough to abandon their charas, then I guess it's important" the samurai-figure cut in. Shuichi nodded, his dark eyes blazing with anticipation.

"Well then, let's get things started! After all, I was not hired for nothing!" he smiled at them all. Leading the charas to another room, the 15 tiny figures reluctantly eyed one another before gulping down the pressure that has formed in them. Well, even if something bad was scheming up in this old guy's mind, they were ought to escape anyway. And besides, what's the worse that could happen?

Yuiki Yaya actually maturing? Nah.

Hotori Tadase acquiring a certain black cat's perverted traits? Probably worse than that…

Mashiro Rima dumping her comedy collection? That's horrible but nope…

Hinamori Amu no longer flushing from all of Tsukiyomi Ikuto's comments? Close…but no….

All these teenagers, one summer vacation, 30 days away from their charas, raging, uncontrollable hormones?

Put it together, you got the answer.

Nine teenagers together for one summer vacation, away from their charas for 30 days with their raging, uncontrollable hormones?

BINGO!

Oh joy…

The charas could only sweat-drop as they imagined the possible scenarios whilst the old man continued leading them to what they presumed was a playroom for charas.

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**(1) For some reason, the name Takahashi Shuichi sounds awfull familiar. If any of you know, kindly review me. **

**M****e: I'd originally intended to make this sound more serious and matured but I miserably failed on that part. What can I say; humor **_**is **_**part of my language. **

**Ikuto: This is going to be so much fun… -smirks-**

**Me: -smirks- oh you could tell this early already? Oh my, Ikuto-boy, you sure have a nose for mischief, don't you?**

**Ikuto: not the best body part you can think of…**

**Me: Sorry, I suck at stuffs like those**

**Ikuto: I can tell. **

**Me: HEY! Anyway, you better review or else, Ikuto will pay. **

**Amu: I won't review. **

**Ikuto: awww Amu-**_**koi… **_**oh well, review you people or else, I will hunt you down one by one in case this brat here –points at me- decides that the best punishment is me not seeing Amu. **

**Me: good boy. But on the other hand, I wouldn't do that. But review anyway. **

**Ikuto: if that's not it…then… -looks at a picture of Barney- NOOOO!!!!!!**


	2. Welcome Aboard!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara. **

**  
Me: BTW, guys, just to let you know, there'll be KuTau in this chapter. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA XDDD as you all know, I LOVE KuTau (well, next to AmuTo that is)**

**Kukai: -smirks- cool…**

**Utau: -blushes- I'm gonna kill you all!**

**Me: Fat chance, don't worry; you'll **_**enjoy **_**this chapter, Utau-**_**koi**_

**Utau: HEY!**

**Me: Oh sorry, I forgot that only **_**Kukai **_**gets to call you that –smirks-**

**Utau and Kukai: HEY!!**

**Me: ah, lovers these days… oh yeah, before I forget, there'll also be bits of RimaHiko. Haha everyone has their own love-lives aside from Amu and Tadase; oh well, they'll never get together in this story! Poor Tadase**

**Ikuto: good to know –smirks-**

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Hinamori Amu, 15, stowed her clothes inside her pink, medium-sized trolley suit case. She closed the zipper of the bag, and then carefully tossed it to the side. Setting her black shades on her pink head, Amu breathed out a few breaths of homely room atmosphere before she gazed at herself one last time at her full-body mirror.

Golden honey eyes stared back at her as she observed her attire. She was currently wearing a white fitting tank top, yellow mini skirt, a pair of white Havainas flip-flops, and to top it all of, black over-sized sunglasses that was perched on her bubblegum-pink hair. Amu smiled; content with her appearance. She pulled out a yellow tie and fixed her hair in a ponytail. She checked her appearance one last time before grabbing her luggage and her trusty purse. Opening the door, she glanced around her room one last time, and then closed the door behind her.

Amu tried to pull her case down quietly but failed. Every step she took, her trolley would thud loudly behind her, gravity pulling it down strongly. She groaned silently every time she heard the pounding sound of the wheels against the wooden stair case. By the time she reached the last step, her whole family had gathered in the living room and was eyeing her curiously.

"Have fun, Amu-chan" Hinamori Midori smiled gleefully as she clasped her hands together. Her carefree attitude was something Amu was awfully thankful for at times like this; without so much a hassle, Midori would allow her child to have fun, assuring her husband, Hinamori Tsumugu, that Amu was already "all grown up" and "deserves some freedom". Powerless under Midori's intimidating glower, Tsumugu would quietly whimper, before locking himself in the bathroom for quite some time.

"My little sparrow!" Tsumugu began once again, anime tears flowing down his eyes like rivers. Midori and Amu rolled their eyes, "You better keep safe while you're away! Will there be boys?" the man demanded. Amu opened her mouth to argue but Midori cut in,

"Of course there'll be boys, you idiot! That's the point of this vacation; for Amu-chan to find herself a boyfriend! Ne, ne, Amu-chan?" Midori began bouncing up and down, clasping Amu's hands in her own. Sweat-dropping Amu sheepishly nodded. Ami chimed in next, clapping her hands vigorously, her toy microphone hanging loosely on her wrist by the small rope attached to it,

"Good for you, onee-chan!" she cheered, giggling uncontrollably and hugging Amu, "Say hi to Utau-chan for me!" Ami pleaded. Amu backed way slightly, wincing at the pain brought about by Ami's death grip. She felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. She reached for it, thankful for the disturbance. Reading it, Amu smiled,

"Actually, Ami-chan, I don't need to do that" Amu grinned. Nine-year old Hinamori Ami confusedly looked at her sister. Quickly explaining before Ami probed deeper, Amu spoke, "You'll see!" she assured. Ami nodded reluctantly, "Open the door" but there was no need to for after a few knocks that echoed, the door flew open and a pissed-looking blonde entered, not minding to show any politeness; oh well, the Hinamoris were used to it, anyway. After all, aside from Rima and _'Nadeshiko'_, Utau _is _Amu's best friend.

"YOU!" the blonde pig-tailed girl seethed, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits at the pinkette sheepishly standing a few feet away from her. Ami released her older sister before prancing giddily towards her idol. She embraced Utau in a death grip and began chanting, _Utau-chan, Utau-chan, Utau-chan! _Calming down a little, Utau smiled at the youngest Hinamori, "Hello" she said.

"Utau-chan! You'll never guess, you'll never guess!" Ami bobbed up and down. Utau forced the younger to stop by exerting some pressure on her head. The latter stopped jumping, much to Utau's relief, "Guess!" Ami continued.

Utau faked thinking position, her previous anger momentarily dissipating. Please note that the key word is _momentarily_, people, "I give up…what?" Utau asked after while with her hands by her chin, her weight supported by one leg, and her hip sticking out. Ami smiled jovially,

"Well…" Ami paused for dramatic reasons, "I GOT ACCEPTED TO A TALENT SHOW!" Once again, the youngest Hinamori began jumping up and down. Amu sighed; if things continued like this, they will _never _get to leave her house. Through the years, Utau has also grew fond of Amu's sister to a point where the idol tolerated her sister's obsession of her, and encouraged her to pursue singing. Now the latter wasn't bad at all but the former! Oh dear god, someone save her when Ami barges in her room at _2 am_ just ask whether Utau likes milk in her cereals! Up to now, Amu still has nightmares of that.

"Alright, Ami, you could tell Utau all about that once we get back from the trip! But for now, let's go. And weren't _you _supposed to be dragging me the hell away from here!?" Amu pointed accusingly at Utau who shrugged. Utau was wearing a halter dress that stopped by her knees. It was green in color with golden sequence imitating a butterfly on the bodice. She donned a pair of green Havainas flip-flops, and equally oversized black shades that match Amu's. Typical best friends.

"Hmpf, fine" Ami and Utau pouted. Releasing the idol from her death grip, Ami kissed her sister on the cheeks, muttering her goodbyes. Midori kissed her daughter on the forehead and kissed Utau on the cheek as well. Tsumugu, who had been silently moping in his spot at the sofa all this time, stood up and seriously spoke,

"Be careful, Amu-chan" he said, kissing her daughter on the forehead. He patted Utau afterwards and ruffled her hair a bit, much to the idol's chagrin. "Take care!" he smiled.

"We will" Amu assured her. After a few more minutes of reminders and goodbyes, the two teens finally set off. Just as Amu was near the door, Midori threw her a huge body bag, nearly the size of Amu's suit case, and said that it contained chips. Amu smied. Once outside, Tsumugu rapidly ran to catch up with them,

"Matte, Amu-chan!" he panted. Stopping in their tracks, the two teens looked back.

"What?" Amu demanded, masking her annoyance perfectly. Tsumugu smiled sheepishly before handing her his camera and a few films, "But dad isn't this your—"

"It's okay. Document every thing that happens; life's too short to wait, you know" he smiled. Amu nodded and kissed her father on the cheek before _finally_ hailing a cab. Tsumugu waived goodbye as Amu bid hers as well through the cab's tinted window. Utau sighed then stated the place.

"Where's your bag?" Amu inquired upon realizing that Utau only carried a small purse with her. Utau shrugged, looking at the views through the mirror,

"Kukai;"—Amu smirked at the name—"probably has it. While your dad was busy _babying _you, Kukai texted me and said that we should just meet them at the terminal instead" Amu nodded, satisfied with the explanation. It was then that she noticed the odd looks the driver was giving them. She nudged Utau.

"Yes…? Is there something wrong?" Amu inquired politely, cutting off Utau's string of insulting comments that would usually involve, '_what the hell are you looking at'_s and the whatnot. Utau rolled her eyes, seeing past Amu's motives.

"Sorry but, is that…the _idol_, Hoshina Utau?" he inquired, eyes now staring back at them as the traffic light blared a red color. Utau rolled her eyes. She was about to speak when Amu cut her off. _Again_.

"Yes—"

"And what if I am?" this time, she cut the pinkette off. Amu glared at her but said nothing, nonetheless. After smirking triumphantly at the rosette-haired brunette, Utau turned her glare to the cabby nervously eyeing them through the rearview mirror.

"Nothing uhm…m-my daughter is a-a h-huge fan so…I was w-wondering if I could g-g-get your a-autograph" he stammered. Utau rolled her eyes but nevertheless agreed. Smiling, the driver sped off towards the terminal, just as the traffic light signaled go.

"Later…" Utau said, then, in a low whisper audible only to Amu's ears, "old geezer" she left out her cusses because she was not up for some sermons. Amu giggled, causing the man to look back at them suspiciously. Utau, however, simply silenced him with an intimidating glare, something that not even Amu was immune of.

_Kukai's the only one who could put off with that glare_ she thought then giggled to herself, causing Utau to cast her glare at her,

"What are you laughing about?" she demanded. Amu did not hesitate to tell the truth,

"About how you and Kukai would make a good couple" Utau nearly gagged. _Her _and _Souma_?!

"Over my pile of ashes!" she said. Amu smirked before choosing to remain silent, a sign that she was in deep thought, scheming up a few things. Utau shuddered; she _dare not _think of the possible _matchmaking _plans that rosette-head was thinking, _the wonders of hanging out with Ikuto_. She smiled at the last part, _Oh Amu...if only you knew_.

"Now what are _you _smiling about?"

"Oh nothing…if only you knew" curious but saying nothing nonetheless, Amu opted for a different topic. For the next 10 minutes of driving or so, Amu and Utau had kept themselves occupied with girl topics, much to the cabby's confusion who, apparently, deemed their language as 'girls language' therefore not understandable to the opposite sex.

"And then, and then, she was like, _no way_, and you should have seen Rima! Oh, it was epic!" Amu and Utau laughed. After a few more minutes of irrepressible giggles, the cabby cleared his throat and successfully grabbed their attention. He shrunk, however, under Utau's intimidating glare,

"What?" she spat, venom lacing her tone. How dare someone ruin her girl bonding time with her best friend!? Well, Utau certainly won't let anyone who interrupted her carefree moments off the hook easily.

"U-u-uh w-w-we're here" trembling, the cabby pointed over to the terminal. Utau and Amu sighed, wary that their bonding time was over. Oh well, there's always the train. Then again, much to Utau's chagrin, she wouldn't be the only best friend there. Amu grabbed half the amount from her purse while Utau did the same. They handed the fair to the cabby who continued staring at them.

"What?" Cool and Spicy demanded. Once again intimidated, the cabby gulped. When he thought that only the idol gets to scare the wits out of him, he was dead wrong. He just did not expect the innocent-looking brunette to be equally daunting as her friend. Then again, that's what friends are for, right?

"W-w-well…a-a-a-autograph" he squeaked under the girls' overwhelming glowers. Eyeing each other momentarily, Amu and Utau sighed. Utau extended her hand. Quickly, the cabby reached out for the compartment and pulled out a pen and a paper. After grabbing the materials, Utau quickly scribbled down her signature and a heart sign.

"Girly" Amu commented. Utau scoffed and rolled her eyes. She handed the paper and pen to the cabby before she got off the vehicle, Amu shortly following behind her. The pinkette struggled to lift her suit case, and it took quite some time for her to pull it out of the car. Utau rolled her eyes again, "What?"

"You're such a sissy and you call me girly" she retorted. This time, it was Amu's turn to scoff,

"Whatever. Put your hat on and let's go" she said, pulling her trolley behind her. Utau did as she was told; she donned her green baseball cap—something that _horrible _did not go with the dress, much to her chagrin—and walked a few steps ahead of Amu who was still struggling with the weight of all her belongings. Sighing, Utau offered her hand to Amu,

"Give me the food and the camera" she said. Obligingly, Amu quickly handed Utau the requested items. Now that her load was lighter, she was able to keep up with the pace of the idol, "You know Amu, I'd like to warn you ahead of time" Utau said.

"Why?"

"Just coz. Now you better ready your heart or else, it might just fail you" the idol looked at her seriously before shaking her head, "But given your case, your hear _will _fail you" she laughed to herself. Amu, who didn't understand a word her best friend said, decided to let it pass, _very mature of you, Amu _she cheered.

"Whatever," Cool and Spicy replied. Utau shook her head once more before walking ahead of her, "Wait up!" Amu ran towards her friend. Utau just sighed. After a while of walking, the idol realized that Amu would be too preoccupied with her belongings and the cryptic message she left her to do some errands, to Utau took the liberty of buying the tickets. Approaching the counter, she handed the cash register the needed money, not forgetting to throw her trusty shades on,

"Two please" she said. The guy stared at her for a while, "I said two tickets!" Utau barked. Snapped back to the reality that his customer was growing impatient, the guy quickly punched some numbers on the computer, two red tickets being printed afterwards. Utau took the paper then quickly ambled towards Amu, not wanting anymore attention, "Stupid guy" she muttered as she reached her friend.

Amu laughed, "I wouldn't ask anymore" she said. Utau playfully whacked her in the nape before joining her in laughing. After a while of walking through the sea of people, Amu and Utau finally spotted (more like got their attention called) the group of teens who were frantically calling them. Okay, correction, only _one _teen was frantically calling them. The rest were just smiling.

"GUYS!! OVER HERE!!!!" Souma Kukai yelled, his hands frantically waving towards them. The other passengers all eyed him strangely while Hotori Tadase spewed out his apologies, much to the brunette boy's chagrin, "You know, you don't need to be so polite, Tadase; I mean, we _paid _our fair! We ought to have some rights around here" he argued, crossing his arms over his chest. Tadase just shook his head.

"And so did they" Utau pointed out, crossing her own arms over her own chest, a mocking face plastered on, clearly challenging Kukai. The brunette boy smirked then extended his hand to shake. Utau eyed his hand, then him, then his hand, then him again; "Ugh, I'd rather not; who knows what idiot-germs** (1)** you have in there" she smirked. Kukai's face dropped fleetingly before resuming a grin.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Let's get on the train!" He cheered, tossing his over sized backpack over his shoulder. Utau rolled her eyes and reached out for her bag when Kukai backed away from her, towing her bag as well. Utau glared at him; something that Kukai was immune already (then again, when did Utau's glares _ever _affected him), "Uh-uh-uh. I'll hold your bag, milady" he smirked.

If it wasn't for her ultra stubborn attitude, Utau would have died on the spot. But no; she wouldn't be called the sister of the certain black cat for nothing. It seemed to their friends that stubbornness just run in the whole Tsukiyomi family; or maybe it was something hereditary from Tsukiyomi Aruto that Utau and Ikuto _un_fortunately inherited. And so, instead of swooning like any dreamy girl would when their prince charming chose to, well, _charm _them by being all gentlemanly, Hoshina/Tsukiyomi Utau instead huffed, crossed her arms, looked away, and glared at the nearest inanimate object deprived of visuals of her blushing face: the tiled floor, "Have it your way" she spat.

Only Hinamori Amu saw her; one living soul to see _the _Hoshina Utau blush. For the first time since Amu met her, Utau blushed for _someone _else other than her brother; then again, it had been ages since Utau last saw Ikuto, and it also had been ages since Utau realized that what she felt, after all, was sisterly overprotective-ness. Upon seeing the blood tainting Utau's usually pale cheeks, Amy giggled silently. Thankful for the distraction, Utau glared at Amu, immediately silencing the younger girl.

"Well, we'll never get there in time. Are we going or not?" Rima demanded. She was wearing a slightly baggy jersey, really _short_, shorts and a pair of white flip-flops. She had on white, oversized sunglasses, perched on top of her curly locks. She held her clutch tighter while Nagihiko, who was standing beside her, struggled with the weight of his bag and the weight of Rima's bag.

"Of course we are, Rima-chan" Nagihiko consoled, fearing to feel the wrath of an impatient Rima first hand. Rima rolled her eyes through the tint of her sunglasses but decided to accept Nagihiko's promise. With a strong tug, she pulled the hem of Nagihiko's black _My Chemical Romance _shirt as she led the way to the train the somehow, amidst their arguments, parked in front of them, waiting for passengers to aboard.

Smiling sheepishly, Nagihiko looked back at all of them. He cowered when he saw their faces: mischievous grins or knowing smirks (Kukai and Utau). Nagihiko gulped but nonetheless followed Rima to the train. Tadase entered next, then Amu, then it was Yaya, who was quiet because of the lollipop she was happily sucking at. As Utau walked towards the train, Kukai fell back a few steps then bowed,

"After you milady" he said politely. The few girls around them giggled. Blushing slightly, Utau concealed her embarrassment with a scowl and a grunt before proceeding to purposely brush Kukai's shoulders with her hands; enough force to almost knock him down due to all the weight he was balancing in his hands. Kukai, however, seemed to found this little gesture amusing, as he smirked then stood up straight, "Feisty…I like it" he murmured to himself, hopping on the train after Utau settled in.

The two walked along the narrow hall of the train. Eyeing cab after cab, Utau and Kukai finally gave out a sigh of relief when they found Amu squeezing herself through an even narrower door to their cab. Utau glowered, "You just _had _to choose the last cab, didn't you?" she hated it how she has to walk so much, only to find that it wasn't such a comforting ending after all. Amu smiled sheepishly,

"Oh shush Utau, this is the best" she said. Utau rolled her eyes. When Amu finally managed to enter, it was Utau's turn. Her amethyst eyes widened briefly; Amu wasn't lying. The cab they were in was…well…huge; it was like a fancy 5-star hotel room squeezed in a train. There were two velvet chairs parallel to one another, a small coffee table at the center with a few newspapers. There was a door attached to the cab, obviously leading to a bed room. When Utau entered the bedroom, she found two double-decks placed next to each other, a few feet distance between them. On either side of the beds were side tables with a lamp shade perched on top. Again, there was another door attached; the idol assumed it was a CR.

When Utau exited the room, she then realized that athwart to where she currently stood was another door, "What's in that room?" she asked Mashiro Rima who was sitting on the couch, her feet positioned on top of the coffee table. She was sipping some beverages when she spoke, "tiny kitchen" she said. Utau nodded, already used to these kinds of fancying: _the perks of being famous_, as Sanjo Yukari, her manager, would always say.

"If the room's so good, why'd they give as _that _door?" Kukai, who somehow managed to squeeze his way in unscathed, commented, dropping his bag down the floor while placing Utau's carefully on the couch. If Utau had—yet again—been another one of those dreamy girls, she would have cracked a smile, blushed ten folds of red, and eye Kukai longingly. But—yet _again—_, she wasn't; she was this stubborn little idol who refused to let the female population get trampled on by idiotic eggheads who feed themselves with ego. You go, girl.

"The door's jammed" Rima replied, shrugging. Kukai nodded before he went inside the bedroom, only to holler another complaint. Upon this complaint, however, Utau had to agree; after all, she dare _not _think of inhumane possibilities of how the turn out of events will be. She looked at Rima skeptically, who just shrugged again in response, much to the idol's chagrin.

"Well I won't have it" Utau argued. Rima eyed her before speaking,

"That or the floor"

"I bet you're doing that just so you'd have a valid excuse to sleep with that Fujisaki" Utau spat, proud with her comeback. Rima, who was busy downing some Sprite, began choking uncontrollably whereas, Nagihiko, who just came out of the tiny kitchen drinking some water, spat out the beverage. The unfortunate victim: Kukai, who was on his way to the kitchen, from the bedroom, to grab some snacks. It was a good thing that it was Kukai, otherwise, he would've found himself a brand new reason to keep guffawing through out the night.

"Excuse me!?" Rima shrieked. Nagihiko was sputtering out his constant apologies to Kukai, who, despite the misfortune he jus had, was listening intently to the conversation of the two blondes. Utau raised a brow,

"You heard me" she challenged. Rima glared at her before she seethed,

"Fine, have it your way" she said, defeated, "Girls will have the _bigger _bed while you guys get the smaller, got that?" but Kukai had other ideas in mind. He decided to smirk deviously and whisper his ideas to Nagihiko, who, at that moment, was still spewing out his _'deepest' _apologies, as he would say. The poor lad nearly choked when he heard of Kukai's plans.

"What the heck?" he said. Kukai grinned but said nothing anymore, continuing to the kitchen. Amu and Tadase exited the small room with Yaya tailing behind, just as Kukai entered. Amu sipped some of her soda before she spoke,

"Hey guys we heard yelling, did we miss anything?"

Kukai, who heard Amu's question through the open kitchen door, murmured to himself, "Oh not yet, Amu…not yet" he chuckled.

**

* * *

****(1) The 'idiot germs' part sounded like something Hotaru or Natsume would say. Haha. :D **

**Hey guys, here's a bit of preview on the next chappie, just so you'd be…err…**_**motivated**_**, hopefully, to review. **

_**Chapter 2: Of beds and visitors**_

"_**I don't get your point, Souma" Rima seethed, glaring daggers at the brunette boy. Nonchalantly shrugging, Kukai pushed the table aside and motioned for Nagihiko and Tadase to do the same with the couch. Rima hopped off the chair then sat on the floor with a huff, realizing that everyone with her seemed keen about the plan this Souma-boy was scheming. **_

"_**Oh don't be such a killjoy, Rima-tan!" Yaya chirped, munching on some chips. Rima rolled her eyes but decided to remain silent. When the guys were finished clearing the mini living room, Rima spoke before the game began and before she forgets what she was about to say, **_

"_**By the way, we'll be joined by someone…let's say…about now" and as if on cue, there was light knocking on the metal door, so light it was as if the person was hesitating whether or not to continue. Kukai got up and dusted some of the invisible dirt he had on his khaki shorts. Walking with sock-clad feet, he opened the door and broke into a grin,**_

"_**Kairi, ma man!" he hollered. Heads snapped to the direction of the intruder. Amu blushed, Tadase smiled, Utau rolled her eyes, Rima kept quiet, Nagihiko waved, and Yaya pranced on the newcomer. **_

"_**Iinchou! Sashibouri!" she spoke. Kairi uneasily replied, balancing a heavy Yaya and his luggage, **_

"_**S-S-Sashibouri, Yuiki-san, minna-san" he said politely. Kukai chuckled then grabbed the luggage Kairi was struggling with. Through his spectacles, Kairi gave Kukai a thankful look. **_

"_**Well now that you're here, let's get this party started" Kukai said as if expecting this, "The game, by the way, will judge who gets to sleep next to who; any questions…?"**_

"_**Yeah," Utau spoke, "What if a guy sleeps with a girl?" she glared at Kukai who grinned again, **_

"_**Now wouldn't that be fun…" **_

**Me: WEEEEEE!!! I enjoyed this chapter. Merry Christmas, people! Oh, and don't forget to review! It's the _least _you guys could do. Haha :D**


	3. Of Bedtime Stories and TShirt Issues

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara!**

**Me: Wow! I never expected TR to be a hit! I mean, sure there were only a few to review but the hits! Oh man! **

**Ikuto: pfft. I've seen better…**

**Me: and there's this thing about Ikuto! Patience, people, Ikuto will come out sooner or later…but not…now…**

**AmuTo fans led by Ikuto: WE WON'T TAKE YOUR PATIENCE CRAP!!! WE DEMAND AMUTO NOW!!! **

**Ikuto fan girls led by Ikuto: AND IKUTO-SAMA!!!!!**

**-Becomes an angry mob and hunts down the authoress-**

**Me: AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!! Btw, before I am hunted down completely, I'd like to inform you all that I changed the title, much more suited to the flow of this story. Now, where was I? Oh, right...AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!  
****  
AmuTo fans led by Ikuto: AFTER HER!!!!!**

**

* * *

**

"Hey guys let's play a game!" Kukai hollered from the bedroom. He got out, still clad in his white, button down shirt, khaki shorts, and a pair of white, Nike rubber shoes. Nagihiko with his black _MCR _shirt, loose jeans and black Converse nodded, while Tadase, wearing a bubbly blue shirt with _Smile…it confuses them_ printed in bold Wild Words **(1)**, white jersey shorts, and some blue and white slippers, muttered his 'sure, why not'.

"Hooray! A game!" Yaya pranced about, wearing a short-sleeved green hoodie with yellow horizontal stripes, denim shorts, and a pair of green flats with yellow polka dots. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail with her trademark ribbon, "What's the game, huh, Kukai, what is it, what is it?" she asked giddily. Kukai smirked,

"Oh this game needs to involve everyone" Kukai said suggestively, setting his mischievous gaze on Rima, who was comfortable seated on the velvet couch. She eyed him skeptically in return, throwing aside her copy of a teen magazine,

"I don't get your point, Souma" Rima seethed, glaring daggers at the brunette boy. Nonchalantly shrugging, Kukai pushed the table aside and motioned for Nagihiko and Tadase to do the same with the couches. Rima hopped off the chair then sat on the floor with a huff, realizing that everyone with her seemed keen about the plan this Souma-boy was scheming.

"Oh don't be such a killjoy, Rima-tan!" Yaya chirped, munching on some chips. Rima rolled her eyes but decided to remain silent. When the guys were finished clearing the mini living room, Rima spoke before the game began and before she forgets what she was about to say,

"By the way, we'll be joined by someone…let's say…about now" and as if on cue, there was light knocking on the metal door, so light it was as if the person was hesitating whether or not to continue. Kukai got up and dusted some of the invisible dirt he had on his khaki shorts. Walking with sock-clad feet, he opened the door and broke into a grin,

"Kairi, ma man!" he hollered. Heads snapped to the direction of the intruder. Amu blushed, Tadase smiled, Utau rolled her eyes, Rima kept quiet, Nagihiko waved, and Yaya pranced on the newcomer.

"Iinchou! Sashibouri!" she spoke. Kairi uneasily replied, balancing a heavy Yaya and his luggage,

"S-S-Sashibouri, Yuiki-san, minna-san" he said politely. Kukai chuckled then grabbed the luggage Kairi was struggling with. Through his spectacles, Kairi, who was wearing a plain white shirt, baggy jeans, and black and white Vans, gave Kukai a thankful look.

"Well now that you're here, let's get this party started" Kukai said as if expecting this, "The game, by the way, will judge who gets to sleep next to who; any questions…?"

"Yeah," Utau spoke, "What if a guy sleeps with a girl?" she glared at Kukai who grinned again,

"Now wouldn't that be fun…" Kukai said. Utau whacked him upside the head, feeling a blush creep up on her pale face. She settled herself next to Kukai. Kukai feigned hurt but then broke out into a grin, "Well, get seated everyone!" he chirped. Agreeing, the teenagers took their respective places. Amu sat beside Utau, followed by Kairi; Yaya took her sit next to Kairi. Then Tadase gently settled on the unoccupied space next to Yaya, near the door. Nagihiko, who sat next to Tadase, was leaning against the metal frame of the jammed door. Rima moved a little bit next to Nagihiko from her previous postion near the window.

"You know, you guys could move a bit" Amu complained, feeling herself get squished by Utau and Kairi. Kairi blushed then nudged the young girl next to her. Yaya stood up

"Hey!" she pouted. Kairi muttered his apologies. Rolling her eyes, Rima took the liberty of moving closer to the window again. Nagihiko followed soon, then Tadase, then finally Yaya; so now, Rima was almost next to Kukai from being previously diagonal to him. Nagihiko was grinning sheepishly at the pinkette across him who just smiled back.

"Well, are we going to play or not?" Utau demanded, growing more impatient by the second. Kukai muttered his 'sheesh, woman' before he grabbed something from his huge pocket: it was a bottle. They all eyed him incredulously, "Can't you think of a better game" Utau spat.

"Pfft, it's not _just _spin the bottle. And who said we were gonna play spin the bottle, anyway? I'm thirsty!" Kukai said before downing some of the ice cold water inside. The teens sweat-dropped, feeling slightly stupid; typical Kukai to humiliate them. when Kukai nearly finished the liquid, he removed the bottle from his lips and then threw it backwards where it landed swiftly on the couch, "Alright! Now that's settled let's play Seven Up!"

"_Seven Up_?" Amu repeated, "Isn't that, like, a _brand of beverage_?" she asked. Kukai laughed,

"'Course it is! But it's _not _going to be a beverage game, Hinamori" he said, "The game's just called seven up!"

"Why?" Rima asked.

"Thought you'd never ask" Kukai smirked while his companions rolled their eyes, "Anyway, it's called Seven Up because of the mechanism of the game. It's quite simple, actually. You place a hand on either side of your chest; you choose; and then the person next to you on that side, let's say, if I put my hand the right side of my chest, Utau will go next, will continue. The person taking his or her turn will continue to count and place his or her hand on either chest until we reach the number seven. Whoever counts 'seven' will have to place the hand _above _the head; fingers pointing to either left or right; then just like before, who ever gets pointed will be next. He or she will begin with 'one', this time" Kukai explained.

Understanding the game, the teenagers nodded, "This is kinda boring" Rima commented.

"Well, that's because the game seems simple enough; but it's not always the case. You see, when you don't pay close attention to the game, your carelessness can always get the best of you. Plus, it gets harder as the members decrease." He shrugged. Satisfied with the challenges, Rima nodded, "Alright, let the games begin!"

"How are we supposed to determine who gets to sleep with who?" Amu chirped.

"Oh that's easy. Once the game decides who win, it's up to the winner who puts who with who. For example, I won; my decision would be, Amu sleeps with Tadase; Rima and Nagihiko, and so on and so forth" at the mention of their names, the four teenagers blushed.

"L-Let's start the game already" Amu commented. She failed to bring Cool and Spicy out at this time, mainly because she was too flustered to do so. Utau nudged her before smirking, upon which brought forth more blood tainting the pinkette's cheeks.

"Okay!" Yaya chirped.

* * *

_**One hour of Seven Up**_

There were only three people remaining: Kukai, Utau, and Yaya. Surprisingly, Kairi was outsmarted at this game. Rima was out first, followed by Tadase, then it was Nagihiko, then Kairi, and finally Amu, who, if it wasn't for Utau's constant teasing about a certain blue-haired wonder, would never have been out of the game. Amy glared at Utau,

"Cheater" she said. Utau chuckled. Ignoring Amu, Utau occupied herself once more with the game. It was only after a few minutes when the next loser was declared: Yaya.

Of course it was Yaya; who else would be? In the battle field, only two parties get the final stage. It was for certain that this idol would never lose, and of course, typical Kukai would want to play matchmaker again. Aghast that _he _remained as her opponent, Utau glowered, upon which Kukai felt his manly pride shrunk to a pea size, or maybe far smaller than that. He gulped, Utau smirked; like I said, you go, girl.

"I won't lose to you" Utau challenged,

"Neither I, sister" Kukai responded. A nanosecond passed, a fly died somewhere in the big wide world, a glare, an electric current, then finally, the slow motion movement of Utau's hand raising and her lips moving with the progress of her hand,

"Seven" Utau declared, placing a hand atop her head. Kukai quickly said his 'one', raising his hand to no particular direction; it didn't matter now, anymore. For a few more moments it continued like this; no one dare miss a breath for whoever the winner will be gets to boss around the losers…with no complaints; otherwise, it would be a one night sentence with Mr. Cold Hard Floor.

"Two!" Utau yelled, clearly fired up.

"Three" Kukai replied with equal determination. It went on like that; no one was winning, no one was in the verge of loosing either. Bored with the lack of thrill, Rima stood up, her blonde locks swayed from the movement. She made her way to the kitchen where she grabbed a soda and downed some of the liquid,

"This is getting no where…" oh how wrong she was. After a few more seconds, Rima heard the mini living room burst into a gasp, followed by an eerie silence that stretched on for what seemed like forver. Impatient, the blonde quickly ran to the living room where she, herself, gasped but successfully concealed it, "Finally" Rima faked boredom, although deep down, she was actually relieved. She didn't know whether to feel happy or not about the outcome; for starters, she didn't even bet on any of the two to win, then again, they wouldn't be them without their characters. And so as the moments dragged on, Rima finally decided on what emotion to feel:

Disappointed.

Maybe it was an understatement, maybe it was an overstatement; but either way, as far as Mashiro Rima was concerned, this person standing upright at this moment would bring nothing but trouble to them. She eyed the loser sitting quietly on the corner, glaring at the winner proudly showing off what seemed to her like an invisible trophy. How Rima wished it wasn't who she thought it'd be! Gulping down a few more nips of the soda, Rima sat down on the couch stashed away to the far corner of the room, which, given her current position, was right next to her.

"This won't be good…" she heard Nagihiko mutter as he dejectedly took a sit next to Rima. The blonde nodded in mutual agreement as the purple head placed his head on his hands, clearly not liking the outcome. Feigning an offended look, the winner turned to the duo and spoke,

"Aww you guys, look at the bright side, at least you get to sleep with who you like!"

And as far as everyone was concerned, Souma Kukai must _never_, never ever in all eternity, win a game of Seven Up again, no matter what the price would be. This, the seven teenagers all agreed upon.

_**

* * *

**_

22 Hours, Pacific GMT

"Do we have to?" Yaya drawled, embracing her teddy bear tighter to her chest. Kukai crossed his arms and eyed her skeptically,

"You had your way" he retorted, "when it was _I _who should have had it; we're even now" he said. He was currently wearing his pajamas: green shirt and white jogging pants. Yaya, who was also in her pajamas,: a red night dress that stopped a few centimeters above her ankle with ducky prints all over it, pouted in defeat then crawled to her side of the top bed.

When Souma won, he all-too-willingly declared the pairs: first off, he chose Nagihiko and Rima, an obvious decision given the way he was smirking at them whenever given the chance, next was Kairi and Yaya, who's pair had been decided after some moments of deliberation. Then it was Amu and Tadase; a simple gesture that brought forth many childhood memories of innocent crushes and silly puppy loves. Of course, the said pairings left him with none other than Utau Hoshina; probably the last person he'd ever want to sleep with…of course deep down, he was partying at the outcome.

Smirk after smirk and grin after grin, Kukai and Utau were forcibly tucked on the same bed. Although it was quite against their will, the two oldest teenagers could say nothing anymore, given that it was unfair after their little game. Of course, Utau was expecting this; no matter what the outcome of the game was, she would always be paired with him. Deep inside, Utau didn't mind sharing the bed with a boy, but only if it was _him _or the other _him_; but given the latter, she'd rather not anymore; it was _far too _embarrassing, after all, for a 17-year old teenager such as herself, to still be sleeping next to her 20-year old brother. Oh hell no.

"Guys, let's all just sleep" Amu mumbled groggily. She was wearing an oversized black shirt and some shorts, much too much for Tadase to handle; there was no moment the blonde boy would not blush whenever his ruby eyes would settle on those creamy legs of his crush. Utau, upon seeing this, would always smirk,

"Amu, who's shirt is that?" Utau asked. This certain question must've caught the brunette off guard (thus causing her to be wide awake), for she stiffened before reluctantly facing her friend, _dead giveaway_ the idol thought,

"Uhm…papa's; why'd you ask?" Amu replied, uneasy. At this peak of little conversation, six teenage interests spark, thus resulting to 12 ears intently listening to the next turn out of events. Utau who was wearing a violet night gown that stopped by her knees (much to a certain brunette boy's demise of fantasies as he was expecting something…_shorter_, to say the least) continued to smirk.

"Oh really?" she challenged, "Then why do I recall Ikuto having a shirt like that?" she raised a brow. That was it. Pow, bam, whoosh. Every ounce of Amu's self control dissipated into thin air. She strutted her hip out and leaned her weight on one leg as a hand accentuated the arch of her hip,

"This isn't the only shirt that exists on this planet that has the same design" said Cool and Spicy. Slightly taken aback, Utau concealed her shock with a smirk; well done, Hinamori Amu. For once, she didn't flush; she actually took control of her nerves before the impulse and allowed her alter ego (?) to take control of the situation instead of her easily flushing self,

Quickly thinking of a comeback, Utau voiced out her perfectly chosen words, "Humor me, then, Ms. Cool and Spicy; where did you get that shirt?" Utau raised her brow. Again. At this, Amu's _tongue got caught by the cat_. She had no idea what to say! Would she tell the truth? No, it would only embarrass her further. Should she lie? If so, what lie? Amu's mind did not provide her any answers, "Well? We're waiting" Utau's voice echoed through the air-conditioned room. The chandeliers atop shook lightly as the train continued to move. Amu gulped,

"How should I know? My dad bought it!" she retorted, quite proud with her answer. But Utau knew better.

"Oh really? How old is your dad?" she asked.

"He's 41, why?" Amu asked, not at all ashamed of her dad's…age.

"And you are?"

"Fifteen"

"Ikuto is?" Amu paused momentarily before answering,

"Twenty, why?" she asked back after quickly doing some mental math. Utau smirked,

"Amu, there's a big difference between a 20-year old fascination of Panic at the Disco and a 41-year-old's admiration of Michael Jackson" bam that hit the spot! Amu was speechless; what was she to say then? She was hit right on the nail! Bingo, jackpot, baby! Amu felt herself shrink under Utau's gaze.

"Your point is?" nice. Oh well, given her current predicament, this might as well be the best comeback there is. There was nothing left for Amu to say; she has said the last of the retorts her mind could give her; more like, Utau turned the conversation into a complete dead end for our heroine. Amu waited a moment before Utau answered,

"My point is: why are you wearing Ikuto's shirt?" Utau asked; she, as well, running out of questions. Amu smirked; maybe luck was on her side,

"Like I said, Utau, this isn't your brother's shirt"

"Then why do I smell Ikuto-san's perfume?" or not.

"Yaya!" Amu screeched,

"What? It does! And don't get me wrong; I get a lot of Ikuto-san's smell from Amu-chii; before school, Amu would smell of boy's perfume!" Yaya countered, crossing her arms over her chest. Utau smirked; the table's turned back to its proper position,

"Well, Amu?" Amu gulped, before her face suddenly burst out with a lively shade of red,

"Okay fine, it's Ikuto's shirt, you happy!" Tadase flushed at this comment while Amu, who, if it was possible, blushed even further. The rest of the teenagers all eyed Amu with amazement; who wouldn't!? After all, she _is _wearing a _guy's _shirt!

"Why…?" was all Rima managed to ask, quite surprised herself. Amu blushed then climbed up the bed and sat on her corner,

"Long story"

"DID IKUTO-SAN SLEEP WITH YOU!?" Yaya demanded.

"Of course he did—no, wait, he didn't! Oh, Yaya, you got it all wrong! H-h-he, he slept on the floor! Like how he always did!" yelled a flustered Amu before covering her mouth with her hands, clearly not expecting her outburst. They all grinned/smirked at the flustered brunette,

"_Like how he always did_?" Rima repeated, fascinated.

"Oh it's a long story!" Amu sighed dejectedly.

"Tell us!" Yaya, Utau, and Rima chirped. The boys nodded except for Tadase and Kairi who still hasn't gotten over their little crush on Amu.

"No! Guys, maybe it's about time we sle—"

"NO!" five teenagers countered. Amu sweat-dropped; guess there was no escaping.

"Alright but, all of you go to bed now!" she yelled. Instantly as if intimidated, the rest of the gang quietly scampered to their respective beds, all eager to listen to Amu's story. The pinkette sighed before she spoke, "Promise you won't tell anyone or tease me?"

"Promise" they said all too quickly.

"Alright" again, Amu sighed, "Fine, Ikuto usually sleeps in my room, okay?" their eyes all widened, "But don't get me wrong! He sleeps on the floor! And that was before he left, three years ago!" Amu quickly added, a tad bit sad.

"Lie!" Yaya countered, "Yeah, I bet your lying" Utau added, "Defintely" Rima agreed. Once again, Amu sweat-dropped; she really had no way out of this, did she? Her girlfriends were _damn _sharp.

"Okay fine, he sleeps with me, you happy?"

"OOOOH" Kukai said, amused,

"DETAILS!" the girls screeched. Amu found herself telling them anyway,

"Fine! Every night at around 7:30, that's about after dinner, I'd lie to my parents and say I'm going to do my homework…okay, _partly _lie. At around 8, _after _I finished my homework, that pervert will be lying on my bed, reading some of my books. Well…that's about the details…"

"NO, MORE!" again, Amu found herself talking,

"Okay! So there'd be teasing and the whatnot, there you happy?"

"Details!" Kukai scowled, not satisfied with the lack of explanation,

"What's to say!?" Amu countered, "He teases me like how he usually does. End of story"

"Well then tell us how you got his shirt!" Rima chided. Amu blushed 10 folds; the gang smirked; they hit the nail square on the head, "Well…?" the blonde probed. The pinkette gulped,

"Fine I'll tell you; but don't tease me, okay!?" Amu demanded. Satisfied with their oh-so-reassuring nods, and slurred, 'sure's ,"Ikuto gave me this shirt the day after he left it. I think it was the first Friday of sixth grade Christmas vacation when he slept at our house. He left his shirt and when we met at the park the next day, he said that I could have it when I tried to return it. Of course I said it was a perverted thing to do, but, you know Ikuto, he wouldn't care…" Amu trailed off, a pink hue darker than her bubblegum hair tainted her cheeks. Smirking, the teenagers all eyed the pinkette,

"Then what happened?" Utau probed, "I bet it's not the only shirt he has that you have. You know, I swear Ikuto _is _missing some shirt…"

"Get to sleep already, people! I told you what you wanted to hear, now you give me what I want; let's just all sleep!" Amu shrieked, flopping loudly on the bed and quickly pulling the covers up, just as she faced the wall in front of her, away from everyone's gazes. Pouting and moaning their disappointed 'awww's, the seven teenagers decided that following the pinkette's advice would be the best thing to do at 11:58 pm, Saturday, especially when their object-of-attention chooses not to satisfy them anymore.

"Fine, fine" Yaya muttered, upset. Thwarted but nonetheless agreeing, the teenagers all allowed slumber to take over their systems. By the time the clock signaled the next day, Pacific Time, everyone was snoring quietly, each immersed in their own dreams, all quietly snuggling their respective comforters tighter against their shivering skins as the air-conditioner wafted almost unbearable cold in the room.

As the digital clocks silently hummed their inaudible tick-tocks, the teenagers subconsciously moved their body here and there, tossing body parts wherever they please, though unconscious; whichever position comfort decides on. Out of the eight teenagers occupying the room, it was most probably the brunette boy, Souma Kukai who had abused his claim on territory…not like the rest of his companions still haven't.

Kukai had his feet widely spread apart, his right leg heavily draped over the petite frame of the beauty quietly snuggling closer to his warmth. The covers that were originally supposed to bring them comfort were now tossed aside carelessly, traces of cloth lingering on the bodies of the teenagers whilst most part of the comforters were nearly on the floor. The boy had his left arm dangling on the edge of the bed, while his right arm protectively wrap on the girl's waist. Whereas the girl, the beauty-of-an-idol Hoshina Utau, seemed to unconsciously tolerate the boy's…err…protectiveness of her, as she clearly cuddled closer to his body, her own frame curved; her legs nearly by her chest while her hands clasped one another. Then again, this might just be an aftermath of losing their covers, or it could be hidden desires for one another exposed as the subconscious dominated over the body's façades. But whatever the case was, one thing was for sure: Souma Kukai and Hoshina Utau don't give a damn.

And given all of their current situations and positions, to a newcomer, it would seem that all teenagers wouldn't also give a damn. Why? Because: Fujisaki Nagihiko in an oversized blue shirt and white pajamas was cuddling a comfortable Mashiro Rima clad in black, sleek night gown with golden outlines. Their comforters were draped cozily over them, providing them with even more comfort. Then there was Yuiki Yaya in her night dress who was embracing Sanjo Kairi, in his red t-shirt and black-and-red jersey shorts, like a teddy bear. Kariri, albeit dreaming of someone else, snuggled closer to Yaya, whose dreams were mostly dominated by candies and other cute stuffs. Typical Yaya. Just like Rima and Nagihiko, their comforters were also warming them. And finally, there was Hinamori Amu and Hotori Tadase, who were probably the only ones _not _enjoying the warmth of one another. Tadase who was wearing a black t-shirt with the letter "L" in Old English, and a pair of white pajamas-pants, had his back against Amu's, Ikuto's-shirt-clad one.

But of course, despite whatever position they might be in, who knows what wondrous things were going on in their heads? We, I, the author, and you, my precious readers, are yet to find out! After all, this story's plot focuses on the adventures of our heroes and heroines as they journey through the one path we ought to take sooner or later: the path of, no matter how much we deny it, _love_.

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**(1) Wild Words (also called **_**Comic Ace**_**) is the font they use in mangas. **

**Me: LOL, I had fun writing this. There AmuTo fans, you happy with the AmuTo here? If you wait, there'll be MORE and with REAL Ikuto in the scene. The more you review, the sooner will Ikuto appear. **

**Ikuto: Freak. **

**Me: No, L is a freak. **

**Ikuto: 0.o is it that guy? **

**Me: EEEEEELLLLLL!!!!!!!!! AY LUVVVV YUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!! **

**L: -Runs away to the nearest death note and writes my name- **_**Mickey no Kimi instant death…as in, now!**_

**Me: fat chance, like that's gonna happen!**

**L: why not?!**

**Me: Mickey's not even my name…or my nickname…**

**L: -sweat-drops- if you want me out of here and alive in DN, review. **

**Me; -cuddles L- you know I love you. **

**L: sigh…**


	4. The Certain Blue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara!**

**Me: Oh my gosh, you guys! Your reviews were so overwhelming, I **_**had **_**to update! And don't worry; since you satisfy me with the reviews, alerts, favs, and hits, this time for sure, Ikuto **_**will **_**appear. **

**Ikuto: about time! I was getting bored here. Wait…where exactly is **_**here**_**? **

**Me: -sheepishly- Madagascar…**

**Ikuto: WHAT!?! THEN HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BE ON SCREEN WHEN I'M HERE IN MADAGASCAR?!!? **

**Me: Oh shut up, Ikuto, I have my ways. **

**Ikuto: you better have, you little twerp, or else, I would lead another angry mob! **

**Me: don't…**

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The next day, by the time the alarm clocked blared off that stupid, annoying ringing sound, the train was almost to a halt; their one-night journey to one chara-less summer was almost over. Groaning, it was Utau who decided to take the liberty of destroying the wicked work of human. She stretched out her hand and was about to whack the little devil when she found out one thing: she couldn't move. Startled, Utau quickly jumped up…or at least, _attempted _to.

Utau, who, by the way, was now wide awake, tried to get a proper view of her position. She focused her amethyst orbs on the source of her…lack of ability to move. What her gaze darted on made her eyes widened; Kukai's feet! So that's why it felt so heavy! Utau squirmed but, once again, she felt her upper torso seemingly glued on the spot. And once again, the reason is all because of yet another Kukai body part: this time, it's his arm, draped lazily over Utau's…chest.

"GAAAAAAAH!!!!!!" Utau shrieked, much louder than the alarm clock that the little devil itself seemed to cower and by instinct, shut up. Upon this noise, seven pairs of eyes fluttered open, most of which actually was followed by an instinctive sitting up and an immediate question,

"What!?" they all yelled in uneven unison. However, the source of all this commotion did not seem to notice at all the chain reaction she has created for her attention was solely focus on the cause of her aggravation; and that guy was sitting up, slouched, in front of her rubbing his sore head that seemed to have bumped against the metal frame of the bed above them.

"What the hell is wrong with you, woman!?" Kukai demanded, still rubbing the bump that has formed on his forehead. Through heavy eyelids, he glared pathetically at the idol. Feeling his glare, Utau's anger boiled up even more, to a point where her mind has sent an unconscious order to her motor neurons, who, in turn, acted: by slapping the nearest source of heat. For this condition; also the nearest source of her aggravation: Souma Kukai, "OUCH!" Kukai yelled as Utau's hand came in contact with his face,

"Y-y-you PERVERT!" Utau screeched, covering her chests with her hands, "WHY THE HELL WERE YOU MOLLESTING ME IN MY SLEEP?!" the idol continued, glaring daggers at the poor brunette who lay on the floor, unaware of the previous events that had transpired which, most likely, caused the distress of the damsel in front of him, panting hard after all the action, _Wow, she's hot! _Kukai bit his cheeks to keep him from grinning; the last thing he needed was a pissed off Utau kicking him in the face. _Then again, _if _she did kick me wouldn't that give me a free view of her—oh stop it, Kukai! You are _not _getting there _again_, _Kukai mentally scolded himself, wherras Utau continued glowering at him,

"For crying out loud, it's only SEVEN IN THE MORNING, YOU DAMN WOMAN!" Rima screeched, sounding so out of character. Her hair was so tangled; some strands were actually defying gravity. Yaya pouted, her hair unkempt, as well, while Amu, by some weird, out-of-this-world miracle, actually had her locks bouncing down a few inches past her shoulders nicely and smoothly as if she never had gone to sleep,

"It's not my fault!" Utau defended, uncrossing her arms and gracefully hopping off the bed. She did her trademark pose after that: her entire weight leaning on one leg, her hip arching a bit to the side, and her arms crossed over her well-developed chest. Her face held her trademark scowl, "It's _that_ guy's fault for harassing me so early in the morning!" she pointed over to Kukai's figure with purple-manicured toenails. Kukai shrugged and picked himself up,

"What do you mean _'harass_' you? Your honor, I object!" Kukai retorted then flopped down on the bed,

"Guys, it's just seven am. Can't we get back to sleep?" Amu complained, preparing to pull the covers back when she felt a strong tug on them that cost her to lose grip on the fabric. This caused the pinkette to jerk upward, "HEY!" she growled, clearly not liking the…err…intrusion.

"We can't Sleeping Beauty" Utau began, casually folding the comforter neatly, "We're almost there. I say in about two hours, we'll approach our destination; which is why I set up the alarm clock this early. Anywho, if we don't start preparing now, then we'll get out in our PJs." Said the idol. Utau threw back the comforters at Amu. The rosette-haired teen caught it swiftly then gently placed it on top of her pillow. The blonde boy beside her took the liberty of fixing the rest of the bed and motioned for her to get down. Amu blushed but complied, nonetheless.

"Ugh, well then, let's get going!" Rima groaned, making her way towards the bathroom.

"By the way, just so you know, we have to bathrooms; one for the guys and one for the girls. The girls get the bathroom here in this room while you guys get the one at the kitchen" Utau explained, watching as everyone fix their respective beds, and themselves.

"What? Why!?" Kukai demanded, clearly not liking the idea of the bathroom having to be in a sloppy-smelling kitchen, "So that's what the door was…" he mumbled, recalling the seemingly locked door in the kitchen.

"But it's locked" Nagihiko commented,

"Did you try opening it?" Utau countered. The boys mouthed an 'o' before grudgingly making their way towards the kitchen. A loud 'oh!' echoed through out the room which confirmed Utau's words as true on the matter. The girls shook their head; _men_. After a while, the boys returned back to the room, rummaged through a few belongings before living their either scattered on the floor or strewn on the bed as they tossed their respective towels over their shoulders; Kukai's green, Nagihiko's dark violet, Tadase's red, and Kairi's black.

"Ugh" the girls groaned, eyeing the guys' mess. Rolling their eyes, they decided to take turn in showering. And, to pass time, they agreed to clean up their little hotel room, their own luggage, _and_, the guys' mess (understatement). It was Yaya who showered first. While waiting for the youngest female to come out, Rima and Utau never stopped complaining,

"These guys are so annoying!" Utau moaned first, picking up some of Kukai's dirty clothes. Disgustedly, she began to fold them neatly, holding her breath so that the stench would not reach her nose, "At least some of us are luckier" Utau said, eyeing Amu who was humming quietly to herself while picking up some of Tadase's clothes,

"Agreed" Rima muttered; looking at Amu knowingly, as well. Sensing their gazes, the pinkette dropped the bag she was holding and looked back at them,

"What?" Amu asked back,

"Oh nothing…at least _someone _gets to clean up clean stuffs!" Utau replied, jealous that Amu gets to pick up decent-smelling clothes rather than garments that could make a trash can run for its money. Just as Amu was about to speak, Yaya came out, skipping around the room in her rubber-ducky covered bathroom, a yellow towel around her hair preventing droplets of water from dripping on the floor. Amu stood up, thankful for the interruption, "Whatever, I'm going in!" she announced then grabbed her pink towel and pink bathrobe from her bag. Utau and Rima glared but remained silent anyway.

"Hmpf"

"Lucky brat" they said. Yaya stood by the frame of her bed, bewildered. Shrugging it off, she quickly grabbed her garments, walked towards a certain part of the room, and changed behind the blanket the girls have draped over a few cabinets to prevent the boys from getting free view. A few minutes later, Yaya came out wearing a white mini skirt, a blue tank top, a white short-sleeved blazer, and a pair of white flats with blue polka dots (Yaya seemed to have taken a fascination on polka dots). Her brown hair was down as it was wet, as Yaya raked a comb through her locks, trying to settle it down.

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**10 minutes later…**

Amu came out, did the same routine as Yaya, then five minutes later, and approached the girls, wearing a light pink sun dress with a frilly hem that stopped by her knees. It hugged her torso tightly then slightly flowed towards her knees. Amu matched it with white accessories; white flats with light pink outlines, white oversized sunglasses, white bangles with pink polka dots, and a white heart clip. How she pulled off all those accessories in record time was beyond the girls.

After Amu exited the bathroom, Rima quickly followed, pulling with her a glack bathrobe and a black towel. After a while, about 15 minutes later, Rima quietly ambled towards their pretend dressing room just as Utau grabbed her purple bathrobe with black outlines, and a white towel, then quickly entered the bathroom. The two girls left outside tidied things up quickly then flopped down on the beds parallel to each other. Yaya began swinging her feet back and forth whilst Amu quietly looked at her black-manicured nails.

"Guys, what time is it?" Rima asked; cat-walking back over to them. The petite blonde was wearing a black sundress, an inch shorter than Amu and golden short-sleeved blazer that stopped just underneath her chest. She also fancied a pair of golden ballerina flats and a black headband was perched on her head.

"Err…its 8 now" Amu stated, glancing back at the alarm clock Utau _previously _tried to kill. And speaking of Utau…the idol walked out of the bathroom then quickly changed behind the blanket. Around 10 minutes later, she came out looking drop-dead gorgeous. Utau was wearing a dress that stopped by her thighs. It was grey, strapless, and tightly shows off her curves. There were frills at the bottom which showed off what seemed like another dress underneath; it was red **(1)**. The girls all eyed one another before mutually agreeing: _we have to get out of here_. The mind telepath between girls is probably stronger than those that twins have.

"Hey guys, we're going to eat so you get some time to change!" Amu yelled, loud enough for the guys at the kitchen to hear it. Kukai poked his head out of the door frame. His hair was dripping wet; a signal that he just got out of the shower,

"Where you going?"

"Down. Just continue walking from here until you reach the last cargo; there'll be a door which is the main difference. That's the dining room" Utau explained, walking ahead of the girls and opening the jammed door to the most it could slide. Kukai seemed to find this amusing because he kept staring at Utau; that, or he was just beguiled by Utau's 161-degree-Fahrenheit **(2)** outfit. It was probably the latter, judging the way Kukai kept his alluring jade eyes on the blonde beauty the whole time. Utau, who had her hair down, glared at Kukai before reaching for something at her hip pocket. She brought out two pony tails and tied her hair in its initial pigtails, "Freak," she whispered, "Let's go, girls" Utau announced, squeezing herself through the little opening.

"Did you see that, did you see that!?" Yaya bounced up and down once all of them managed to get out of the jammed opening, unscathed. The young girl grinned like a Cheshire cat, her bright orange **(3)** eyes sparkling with mischief. Agreeing with the youngest, Rima and Amu smirked knowingly at Utau who just shrugged and gave them a _'What_?' look.

"Ooooh… I saw _that _too, Yaya" Rima muttered with equal conniving-ness in her tone. Amu grinned,

"Yup, definitely saw it. No, I even _felt _it!" Amu giggled, followed by a series of playful chuckles. Utau felt herself blush; well she felt it too! After all, the intensity of the gaze was so…_intense_, only an idiot would've missed it. And Utau H. Tsukiyomi is definitely no idiot, "Kukai was _definitely _checking. Her. Out." Amu emphasized.

"He was not! Oh whatever!" Utau retorted. The three girls just giggled quietly as the little troupe made their way through exquisite halls. For every few feet or so, an elegant chandelier would hang atop the train ceiling. The walls and the floors were covered with posh, maroon fabric with golden, silk outlines. The doors they passed by were either brass gold or silver in color; either way, there was no glass door to provide their passengers privacy.

"Hey Utau, what kind of train is this exactly?" Yaya asked, interestedly eyeing the intricate designs on the walls and the ceiling.

"This is what you call a VIP train, Yaya. It's made to accommodate people for a longer period than normal train rides; for our case, an overnight" Utau explained, twisting the golden handle of the dining area door. The metal flap creaked quietly as the girls entered. They sat on the nearest area which was closed to the window. The chairs were the type that had other chairs attached to it; it was like a sofa with a plush red fabric and a few small throw-pillows. The chairs and the tables were all a sleek black with a few red outlines, and at the center of every table was a small flower pot with a white light fitting with gold highlights hanging atop, parallel to it **(4)**.

"Trains like that exist?" Yaya demanded, incredulous.

"I've never heard of anything like it" Rima chirped, taking the seat closest to the window and nearest the door. Utau and Amu sat adjacent to each other while Rima and Yaya sat across them, "And where will the boys sit?"

"Yes, you're actually riding in one; it's not my fault you haven't heard of anything like it; and the boys will sit on the chairs behind us" Utau answered calmly. Amu remained silent throughout their conversation. She placed her head on her palm as she allowed her golden gaze to wander out. Mountain after mountain with their summit hidden behind great, white, cumulus clouds; they all passed by the gigantic work of nature as the train continued to run.

"Okay…" Yaya replied, though somewhat unsure. Rima nodded then decided to keep quiet. An eerie and awkward silence blanketed them. The girls wanted to say something to ease the tension but there was nothing to talk about; they would have to live with this awkwardness until their boys came. Only Amu, who was daydreaming, seemed comfortable with this. And speaking of their boys, where were they? The girls must've thought the same thing because they have spoken next at the exact same time, with the exact same words,

"Where are they?" the three demanded in unison. Amu absentmindedly shrugged, still keeping her head on her palm. As if on cue, for guys entered the dining area and made their way over to them,

"Hey guys!" Kukai skidded next to Utau who forced herself to move closer to Amu, despite the lack of space,

"Ouch Quit pushing, Utau" Amu complained, feeling her face get pressed to the window. Utau mumbled her sorry before glaring at Kukai,

"Move it, bozo. As you can see, there isn't enough space for all of us!" Kukai mocked surrender; he placed both of his hands by chest level then slowly backed away from the girl, "Much better" Utau said after some time. The guys then eyed each other,

"Where do we sit?" Nagihiko asked,

"Over there" Rima pointed over to the empty table a few feet parallel to them. The guys shrugged but sat on their designated area nonetheless. After a while of ordering some food, the teens found themselves feasting quietly on some croissants, a roasted chicken with gravy, a spaghetti and some muffins **(DAMN IT, I'M HUNGRY!!!!!!)**. Amu chugged down some of the Coke given to them,

"Oishi!" she said in a sing-song voice. The teens had to agree,

"By the way, this comes with the package so you guys don't have to worry about additional payments" Utau iterated. They all nodded. A few weeks before the trip, Utau booked them into this train. An expense of about 30,000 yen was divided equally among the teens, as such, each paid for about 3,400 yen just so they could be sure of the amount **(if you did Math, it would be about 3.333333… so they just rounded it of, ugh, I hate math)**.

"I see…" Kairi mumbled, munching on some chicken. After breakfast, they quickly ran back to their 'room' to do some final touches. They placed all their bags in the living room and flopped down on the couches or on the floor. There was still some time until the train reached their destination. "Where are we going exactly?" Kairi asked again, pushing his spectacles up. He was wearing a dark green hoodie with short sleeves, grey Levi's jeans, and a pair of green Nike rubber shoes.

Kukai, in his black and white shirt with a transmutation circle at the center, baggy jeans, and some black slippers, agreed, "Yeah, where to?" he asked.

Utau spoke, "Our private beach shack"

"You have a beach shack!?" Kukai asked, dumbfounded. Amu whacked him upside the head, "OW!"

"You idiot! He's an idol! Of course she'll have a beach shack!" Kukai complained about how 'hostile' his 'little sister' can get while Amu just shook her head. If anything, an innocent bystander could have mistaken Amu and Kukai as actual siblings; but they were not; they were just the sister/brother the other never had.

"Okay, where is it?" Nagihiko asked. He was wearing a violet shirt with white blazer **(5)**, jeans, and white sneakers, "Where are we now, exactly?" he asked. Tadase, who was wearing a red shirt, denim shorts, and red slippers, nodded his head.

"We're still in Japan, don't worry" Utau joked sarcastically, "We should be in Osaka by now"

"OSAKA!?!? OOOOOHHHHHH" Yaya and Amu chirped. Not even once had Amu and Yaya ever been to Osaka. Utau, of course, due to being an idol, have had her frequent trips to Osaka; Kukai usually comes with his brothers whenever their works need them at Osaka; Tadase and Rima had already been here because of family matters; and Nagihiko's being a Fujisaki has its perks—he hasn't been just once here in Osaka because of dancing and stuffs.

"Don't tell me you've never been here?" Utau asked,

"Well, my papa used to ask me to come with him to Osaka but I refused" Amu said, still a little bit giddy.

"I never got a chance to go here since papa or mama's work won't allow it; we don't have any relatives here either" Yaya explained. After a few more discussions about the trip, the teens checked the clock: _8:55_. Utau stood up first,

"We should go" she grabbed her bag but was beat to it by Kukai,

"Milady" he teased once again. This time, Kukai decided to take things a bit farther. The appalled Utau seemed ignorant of his next plans for when Kukai gently grabbed her right hand, when he leaned closer, when he placed a chastise kiss on top of her pallid palm, Utau was rigged like a stone.

"KYAAAAA" Amu, Yaya, and Rima squealed while Utau blushed ten folds. Regaining composure of herself, she quickly retrieved her hand then used the other one to slap Kukai: hard.

"BASTARD!" she huffed then opened the door and squeezed her way out. But she didn't do the one thing she was supposed to do: get her bag back from him.

0—0—0

After the hopped off the train, the teenagers then hailed a taxi. Giving specific information in smooth Japanese, Utau stated the directions to the cabby who nodded to every detail the idol gave. They had to take two taxis, given their number, so the idol had to reiterate twice the instructions to another cabby. The girls and guys decided to group together: of course Utau had Amu and Tadase. Although naturally, she would get stuck with Kukai, she would never let anyone else steal her precious Amu from her.

And so, pouting over the fact that they both can't get Amu, Nagihiko and Rima grudgingly made their way to the other cab together with Yaya and Kairi. At this little exchange, Amu would laugh sheepishly. They all got in their respective taxis and waited the next turn of events to play out.

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_**1 hour later…**_

After an hour of just sitting and talking, and basically, doing nothing else, the teens' butts felt…sore, and quite wet as well. But, on the bright side, at least it was all worth it. And so, after paying the fare, which was quite high, mind you, the teens all eagerly hopped off their vehicles and stretched their sore muscles.

"Ah! Finally we're out!" Kukai bellowed, clearly relieved. He then proceeded to grab the luggage at the trunk. He handed the bag to Tadase but held Amu's and Utau's.

"Hey! Give us our bags!" Utau exclaimed.

"Nope" Kukai emphasized the 'p' part, "First of all, it's my duty as Amu's older brother," he didn't bother to use air quotes like how he has always done so. Everybody in their little group was already used to Kukai's older-brother-complex towards Amu, "And secondly, _milady_" he didn't bother to explain as he eyed Utau mischievously. The blonde fumed, huffed, then stomped her foot and turned away,

"Have it your way, idiot!" she growled then led the way through narrow, cobwebbed streets.

"Uh…where are we going, exactly?" Yaya asked, carrying her backpack over her shoulders. Utau remained quiet; a clear sign that she wants to keep it a surprise. The rest understood this immediately for they asked no more. With their bags slung on their bodies, they made their way through stoned paths narrowed by stone walls of the neighboring establishments with spider webs and dusts fluttering about.

"Alright, just answer this question then: how far more?" Rima demanded, swatting away some spider webs in her path with a pen she brought out from her bag a few minutes ago. Her spinal column shuddered unconsciously as she saw a dead cockroach fall from one of the spider webs she removed, "so gross…" she mumbled.

"Just a bit more; I'll tell you when you guys should close your eyes, okay?" they nodded without complain. During the time when they had nothing else to do, Utau asked if they would like the shack to be a surprise and they all agreed to it. As such, she came to the conclusion that taking "the shortcut" would be the best inception of the surprise. The childish 'close your eyes' part is just an additional thrill.

"Okay…" Amu mumbled uneasily. After a few more minutes of walking, Utau faced them with a billion-dollar grin (something that made Kukai feel Jell-o in the knees), and spoke the words they all been waiting for,

"Guys, close your eyes" she said. **(I was planning on finishing it here but I **_**did **_**promise you guys that Ikuto will appear in **_**this **_**chapter…)**. The teenagers did as they were told. They carefully walked out of the narrow pathway and did not dare open their eyes when they felt cold, summer breeze hitting their skin in a teasing manner, or when they heard the sound of the ocean splashing against rocks and/or calmly dancing by the shore. When they smelt the wafting summer air, they kept their eyes shut and focused instead on what they seemed as a hovering establishment, judging from the shadows cast upon them.

"Well…?" Yaya beamed, growing more and more impatient by the second.

"Okay, open your eyes now" they did as instructed and gasped on instinct. The shack…no…_mansion_ was amazing! It wasn't the emblematic type of mansion with huge alabaster pillars and taunting golden trimmings that dared you to touch any thing inside the abode; no, for Pete's sake, it was all but scary! It actually radiated a very warm and homely atmosphere. It was a bubbly hue of yellow with sky blue outlines. The 'shack; was mostly of wood and glass which added to it's homely feeling.

"WOW!" six teenagers breathed, clearly amazed by the view.

Yaya, Tadase, Kairi, Nagihiko, Rima and Kukai all gasped at the wonderful structure Utau calls a 'shack'. They were all awestricken by the "awesome-ness", as Kukai loves to put it, of it all. The teenagers could not seem to take their eyes of the edifice; all of them except Amu…

…Amu, who can't take her eyes off a certain blue…

And I'm not talking about the ocean here, people. _This _is the _real deal_.

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****(1) LOLZ, I seriously have no idea what the ef you call that –not really a fashion person **

**(2) I'd be more comfortable using ****Celsius but then, the numbers would have to be low; which is **_**not **_**the point of making Utau wear a **_**hawwwwwttt **_**outfit, so I decided on Fahrenheit instead. **

**(3) Are Yaya's eyes orange? Were they auburn? Brown? I'm not so sure since I don't really observe minor character's traits. If you guys know, review/PM me about Yaya's eyes then I will quickly change this. **

**(4) Sorry but I majorly suck at explanations like these. Lame…**

**(5) KYAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! NEW RHYMEEEEESSSSSSS!!!! If you guys don't know them, it's okay. They're a dance crew at my school and this is sorta their uniform. They're quite popular with the ladies, especially JASCEEEEELLLLLLLL!!!!!!!! XD**

**Me: AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! CLIFF HANGER!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!  
**

**Ikuto: WHY YOU LITTLE—**

**Me: Uh-uh-uh, Ikuto, that's not our deal. I promised to have you appear here, and you did. I did not specify anything and you did not ask for details; I did our part of the bargain—you showed up in this chapter, therefore, you must do **_**your **_**part of the bargain and lose the mob. Seriously, lose them. **

**Ikuto: fine, fine, you little smart aleck. Hey you people heard her, scram!**

**Fan girls and AmuTo fans: awww…..**

**Me: Don't worry, the next chapter(s) will have so much AmuTo in them, you'll be begging for some KuTau, RimaHiko, and KaYa**

**Ikuto: really!?**

**Me: not exactly. **_**But**_**, I promise you that the next chapter will be AmuTo. **

**Ikuto: JUST AmuTo?**

**Me: It's so easy to right KuTau; I just feel so natural writing scenes for them so there might be some traces…**

**Ikuto: aww….**

**Me: don't worry, you an Amu are the main focus. **

**Amu: -gulp-**

**Ikuto: D'you hear that **_**Amu-koi**_**, we'll have some bonding time together! **

**Amu: Just review…I'm sure that's what **_**she **_**would want. **

**Me: good girl, Amu-chan :D btw, this chap is long. Haha XD**


	5. Mary's Song

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara! and Naruto. They belong to Peach-Pit and Masashi Kishimoto**

**Me: Whoo! Fast update! I want to make a lot of AmuTo before school starts again after Christmas break. **

**Ikuto:…which reminds me, isn't it supposed to be, **_**Christmas, **_**right now?**

**Me: So? It'd be easier to work with the ocean and bikinis than over sized jackets and snow, right? **

**Ikuto: you have a point. **

**Me: Besides, I love summer; there isn't any snow in a tropical country, ya know. **

**Ikuto: must've sucked for you…**

**Me: don't push it. ****

* * *

**

**_Recap: _(this will be the ONLY chapter with a recap, unless I find it necessary to do so as well with succeeding chapters)**

…_Amu, who can't take her eyes off a certain blue…_

* * *

Golden eyes widened, pallid body stiffened, invisible hair stood; that was all that happened to Amu. She did not know how to react for crying out loud! What was she supposed to do, then? Run up to him; embrace him and engage herself in a passionate lip-lock with him? Hell no! No matter how much she wanted to do it, she couldn't; no! Her _motor neurons _couldn't; they seem to be dead right now—not acting and all, despite her minds obvious order: DO IT! Even _she _could here it, for Pete's sake! It was like her mind was thundering deep desires that suddenly exploded from a chest she tried so hard to bury…tried so hard to forget.

But alas, fate! Why does it seem that the one thing you've tried so hard to forget, you've tried so hard to put in a chest in your mind, lock it up with tons of deadbolt, welded it to a point that it would seem like there was no opening to begin with, threw in a raging river you know would stream down to the Pacific Ocean, forever to get lost, probably to even travel to the Atlantic to join the lost city…was the one that was so easily triggered? So easy to remember once again; so easy to bring forth again pains that caused your heart to break in pieces more than two; so easy to make your hypothalamus go berserk? Why? Why!? Amu didn't know.

But her heart did: it was because that this one thing you've tried so hard to convince yourself that it didn't exist…

…was the one thing that made you actually exist; the one thing that made you actually…_you_. **(1)**

She knew her heart knew and yet, she tried to act logical; but the more she tried to convince herself that what her hypothalamus was telling her was something schemed out of her building desire to deny the fact that she was in so much bliss yet in so much pain right now, the more things seemed to not make sense. She wanted nothing more right now than to slap, slap, slap that pretty face of his! She wanted nothing more than to scream at him, to beat him up, to kick his every being; she wanted to pour out her anger on him, lash out her fury on that calm face. She wanted nothing more than to let him taste a bit of the aftermath she experienced after he boarded that stupid plane off to god-knows-where. Yes, she wanted to do all of that. Heck, she was so mad at him right now that she believed she could even throw him off a cliff, laugh at him, and shrug it off the next day; and shall the police investigate her, she'll act like the innocent little lamb she looks like. Yes, she _wanted _to 'murder' him and make him pay but…

She also wanted—no, _needed_, to embrace him; to feel his warmth once again. She needed to hear his voice once more and hear his teasing ring through her ears like an angel's laughter. She needed to blush at every perverted comment he would make, at every embarrassing fact he would state, at every word he would say. She needed to feel him again, to be with him again, to hear him again…

She needed _him _again.

Amu gulped; her 'water' glands seemed to be functioning on full force right now; she was sweating, she was gulping every other second, her blood was coursing very quickly through her veins, and most of all, her eyes felt wet. She tried to control this urge, to control the need to spill out her tears. She tried to control and tried to bite back the strong emotion that was building up in her right. Well for starters, she didn't even know _what _to feel.

The poor, confused brunette felt her whole body weaken. Her knees must've given up on her for the next thing she knew, her butt came in contact with white sand. Her hands tried to grasp for something solid but she found none; the white sand just slipped through her hands…

_Slipped through her hands…_

That's it! Amu's mind clicked. She stood up, albeit a bit shaky, then glared at the hero who made her so weak like this without even doing anything other than standing a hundred meters or so away from her. She bit her lips then quivered as she spoke, "Welcome back" she said solemnly, eyes never leaving the advancing figure. Sure, Amu predicted that her friends would panic and immediately crowd her the moment she fell, and maybe a portion of her mind hinted this, but not entirely for she was surely caught off guard when the next thing happened to her: what she _needed _to have been given to her.

He hugged her.

It wasn't like one of those sappy novels where the girl would hug back and cry her heart out as the guy consoled her with "shh, I'm here"s; neither was it Naruto to have a sunset background as they hugged on top of a cliff, the mighty ocean waves splashing wildly against the rocks at the bottom. No…this was reality, and in reality, there are no such things as happy endings, unless you consider being six feet below the ground a happy ending.

No, this was reality.

And reality hurts; like a slap on the face. And _this _is exactly what Ikuto Hoshina-Tsukiyomi got when he set his gaze on the brunette. What he got wasn't just the playful and meaningless slaps that his baby sister would give to Kukai Souma whenever the latter would tease her. Oh no, this slap was the real deal. The stinging pain…? Yes, this was definitely reality. Harsh, eh?

But reality doesn't only work out for one side; oh no, reality was not biased. Reality works for both sides; for this case, since reality is harsh for one side, then the other side would also have its fair-share of the bittersweet truth. As for the matter right now, this truth would be that reality is **stubborn.** And goddamn stubborn, might I add.

If reality could be a bully against one side, then he could certainly be as immovable as a stone to benefit the other side. Why? Because Reality was, is, and will always be, side by side with Fate. This is what foolish, love-struck humans call…_Destiny_, yet another alias for Fate. And so, we could come to the conclusion that this bitter Reality right now was in partner with Fate, thus a very 'logical' explanation for the reason of the next turn of events.

When I say that Reality works for both sides, I mean it. If Hinamori Amu gets to give Tsukiyomi Ikuto a good dose of Reality, Tsukiyomi Ikuto would be granted the right to give Hinamori Amu an equal piece of his mind; it was like a never ending game of tag between two people—they tag one another with a small room as their playground, with absolutely nothing else to hide with. What I'm trying to say is that this is a stupid cycle; an absolute endless series of events wherein Reality laughs at the foolishness of the humans trying to turn the tables against one another, as Fate herself works her magic.

How? By binding the humans and destining them to be together. Forever.

The emotion could be whatever she pleases, or whatever the situation calls for. For this case, the emotion to tie them up would be the same sentiment that caused so much suffering and torment to these two foolish humans, lost in a labyrinth constructed by Reality, so as to keep the balls rolling. The emotion that keeps a strong tie between these two teenagers, for this case, would be: Love.

And did I mention that Reality really hates love? He bitches out people who believe in _love at first sight_; it was just a thing that didn't exist. The fact that Reality is against 'love' explains why those who jumped to conclusions of being in love experience so many misfortune and so many agony in their lives, until they just realize, _'hey, I'm not meant to be with him/her! He/she left me after all!_' because Realization, for most cases, is Reality's evil twin. Did you notice their names even begin with the same letter?

And dear folks, right now, we could see perfectly how Reality, Fate, and Realization work together as a team, uniting, or maybe even separating these two young lovers. How? It's quite simple actually. Because Reality allowed out beloved heroine to give one good slap on our hero, then that means that Reality would also allow Ikuto to do something, because, like I said, Reality works for both sides.

As for this case, when I mentioned earlier that Reality could be 'immovable as a rock', I was talking about Tsukiyomi Ikuto's one-hell-of-a-will. When Amu slapped him, he didn't even bulge. He just lowered his gaze and suddenly found the sand interesting. Amu could care less if he looked damn hot in a white button down shirt with a few buttons undone, khaki shorts, and white slippers (okay, a part of her _did _and a verrrrrrryyyyy tiny part of her was swooning right now), because right now, she was burning with rage; burning so much that her hand made multiple contacts with Ikuto's face. And if her friends hadn't stopped her, who knows what could have happened if she continued, even for a minute longer.

"NO! NO!" Amu began thrashing violently while Kukai held back both of her arms as Utau and Rima tried desperately to calm her down. Yaya, who was still quite sensitive to things like this despite being 14 already, quietly sobbed in a corner as Nagihiko and Kairi consoled her, "I NEED TO HURT THAT IDIOT! I NEED TO MAKE HIM FEEL WHAT I FELT WHEN HE LEFT!! LET ME GO, KUKAI, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL!" Amu yelled. She continued her thrashing for a few more seconds until she felt some force by her nape. Damn. And then everything went blank…as expected **(2)**.

* * *

It seemed like eternity. But was it? No, it wasn't an eternity; because by then, no one would be standing at the same room as her. How many seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, have passed? Had it really been that long? The swarming figures of blurry silhouettes that roamed over the cold figure were almost a sign that truly an eternity has passed because they seemed almost impossible to make out, almost as if they weren't even there.

Amu brought her body up, well, at least _tried _to. When she tried to sit up, she felt quite a strong force forcing her back down. This caused an immediate reflex action to take place: she fluttered her eyes open. Her golden orbs scanned the looming figures and then one by one she was able to make out their faces…their _worried-sick _faces. And being the overly-protective best friend she was, Utau quickly knelt down by her side and grasped her hands,

"Amu, are you alright?" Utau asked, concern and worry coloring her tone. She was evidently haggard and probably even cried because her eyes were puffy, her cheeks looked tear-stained and her hair was a mess. If anyone saw her like this, they wouldn't have believed that it was the hardhead idol herself, who always kept a strong front. She quivered slightly as she spoke and her voice was trembling too, "Amu…?" she drawled.

"W-What time…what time is it?" she stammered, words fumbling out of her mouth like poison. Her golden eyes darted back and forth uneasily, skimming through familiar face after familiar faces, seeking the one face that brought forth her current predicament, "W-where is…w-w-where is he?" _God, I sound so much like damsel Bella_. She grinned emptily, almost as if there was no more life left in her.

"It's 2 pm now, Amu, you've been out for quite some time. And if you're looking for Ikuto, he's right outside. He never left that spot since we brought you to this room" Utau explained, still holding Amu's hands. Amu nodded. This time, some feeling returned to her back, she felt the softness of the bed under her, the floppiness off the pillow cushioning her head; the comforters warming her numb body. Yes, she felt them all; finally, she was feeling something. It wasn't much but it was a start after she numbed completely.

"I see… thanks guys, sorry. I…I lost it back then" she chuckled lifelessly. She took in the worried faces of her friends. Of course there was Kukai, aside from Utau being here, as the older-brotherly figure, Kukai had every right and reason to be here. And of course there was Nagihiko, who's 'alter ego', despite Amu not knowing it, was the pinkette's best friend, after all; and that aside, Nagihiko truly cares for Amu. Certainly, there'd also be Kairi, and Tadase whose little puppy love for Amu, harbored through all these years, gets the best of them at times, especially if their object of affection was concerned, "Where's Rima and Yaya?" Amu asked.

"Giving Ikuto a piece of their mind" Utau replied, standing up and sitting on the bed. Her weight caused the bed to slightly bounce, "Amu, you should…"

"I should go talk to him, I understand," Amu said trying to get up, but Utau, _once again _pushed her back down,

"No! That's not what I meant!" Utau argued, trying to push Amu back down again but this time, the pinkette swiftly avoided her hands and ducked away in time just to prevent Utau's grasp from holding her still. Where she got her cat-like reflexes was beyond them. Amu quickly rushed out of the room, "AMU!" Utau tried stopping her but was held back by Kukai instead.

"Let go, idiot!" Utau thrashed but not as violently as Amu did, much to Kukai's relief,

"Why are you trying to stop her Utau?" Kukai asked.

"Because Amu might get hurt again!" Utau countered, calming down a little bit. She softened under Kukai's touch, "She might get hurt again…" she repeated.

"No Utau, you're wrong. If you try stopping her now, the more she will get hurt" Kukai explained. Utau's amethyst eyes softened as she gazed at Kukai's jade ones. Time must have stopped for the two of them; pride and dignity, anger and teasing, happiness and comfort, there was no more of those bizarre emotions swirling before them; no, right now there was only the two of them. But the would not kiss, oh no, that was too much. All they did was melt into each other's gazes. As Utau's knees became jelly, Kukai held her steady in his strong arms. And they stayed like that for some time.

Kairi, Tadase and Nagihiko took this as their cue to leave. When they exited the room, they found no Ikuto or Amu arguing whatsoever outside, "Where are they?" Kairi asked, pushing his spectacles upward. Rima huffed as Yaya pouted. They were obviously in no mood to answer, and the boys knew better than to juice out some information from them. The boys nodded in mutual understanding then decided to lead the girls outside for a breather.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Amu asked, glancing at their intertwined hands. When she went out of the room and asked to talk to Ikuto, the guy has said nothing and instead took her hand and dragged her off to who knows where. Seriously, how many floors and corridors did this "shack" have!? For the past hour or so, they haven't done anything else but to walk, walk, and walk.

"Somewhere…" Ikuto grumbled. Amu, dissatisfied by his…lack of words, grunted but remained silent nonetheless. She rolled her golden orbs: some things never change, huh? Whenever Ikuto was extra moody, he was awfully silent. The girl sighed, already quite used to this. She said nothing anymore for there was nothing to talk about. Time seemed to stretch for the two of them, and wherever Ikuto was dragging her, it certainly wasn't helping the fact that her feet were beginning to hurt.

"My feet hurt!" Amu whined, "Are we there yet!?" Yes, some things will just never change; even up to now, Amu was and could still be as childish as she used to be three years ago. Ikuto must have found this amusing for he looked back at her, his pace never faltering even as he did so, and did his trademark thing: he smirked.

It wasn't just those normal smirks that girls fawn over; oh no, certainly not. It was _her _smirk; the uneven rise of lips meant only for her. It was the smirk—so close to a smile—that Ikuto would give her whenever their conversation was going to a pleasant direction. It was the smirk he would give her whenever he was trying to lighten up her dampened mood. It was the smirk he gives her whenever she was down…it was _her _smirk; the smirk he only gives to her. And if Amu didn't know any better, she would have believed he was _smiling_.

"Don't worry, we're almost there, _Amu-koi_" ah, back to basics. Well, if Ikuto was attempting to bring up some happy events, at least he succeeded. When Amu fumed, she wasn't raged at him anymore, she was flustered and Amu could not control her nerves whenever she was. And so, Amu's 'other' self would, of course, resurface and take center stage,

"Huh, who gave you the right to call me that, Ikuto?" said Cool and Spicy in a mocking tone. Ikuto wolf grinned,

"Whatever you say, Amu-koi. Anyway, we're here now" Ikuto said before pushing a door open. The door was located at the far end of the hallways; not the last door, though, it was probably just second or third to the last. When they entered, Amu realized that this must be Ikuto's.

Her judgment wasn't because there was a bed, nor was it because of the clothing strewn messily across the floor, here and there. No, it wasn't either because it smelt of boy's scent (partly). She has came to the conclusion that it belonged to Ikuto because it was a music room. There was a sleek black grand piano at the center. Adorning the walls were shelf after shelf of different instruments. In one shelf were all Wind Instruments. The one adjacent to it which consumed about two shelves were all Stringed Instruments. The next few shelves were filled with various CDs of various pedagogues and virtuosos of all time.

"Wow…" Amu breathed, walking barefooted on plush red, carpeted floor. She twirled around in her dress and took in her surroundings before she realized that the windows were not open. Gracefully running towards the glass casements, Amu swiftly tucked away the heavy, velvet curtains. She found two golden laces by the windowsill and used it to tie the cloths. Satisfied, Amu then opened the window to its fullest. She heard the ocean and smelt the summer; this was freedom. Of course, all this time, Ikuto stood there: dumbfounded.

When Amu began to walk away, free from his grasp, she could have fooled him by the way she ambled; it was like her feet were barely touching the ground! Her dress that swung gracefully back and forth to the movement of her hips also added effects. And when she spun, dear god! It was almost the end for Ikuto.

"Amu…" he drawled, clearly feeling the 'rise of the cobra' down there. Ah Ikuto, the magic of the hormones. He groaned and shifted uncomfortably before he walked towards the brunette who spun in her heels so gracefully as she heard her name escape his mouth,

"Yes?"

"Sing for me" Ikuto ordered. Amu's gold eyes widened,

"Excuse me?" she coughed. Ikuto cleared his throat briefly before continuing.

"Sing…for me…please…" he almost begged. Amu fumbled with the frills of her dress uncomfortably as her feet shifted back and forth awkwardly. She repeated her little mannerism she thought she has gotten rid of, of biting her lips; she was dead nervous, and the biting-her-lip-part was the obvious giveaway. Of course, Ikuto, who probably knew Amu in and out, head-to-toe, noticed this and sighed, "Uh…sorry, just forget it. It's probably—"

"No! I'll sing…for you…but just once, okay!?" She warned. Ikuto grinned then he hurriedly ran towards the grand piano, sat on the stool, and patted the empty space next to him, "What? You play? The piano?" Amu asked, quite incredulous. Well for crying out loud, all this time she thought the only instrument he played was the violin! And now…the piano. Wow.

Ikuto rolled his eyes, "Pfft. I'm raised in a family of musicians, Amu. My dad's a violinist, my sister sings, and you might not know this but my mom is actually a gifted pianist. And even while I was living with Tadase, his grandmother allows us to use the upright they have there" Ikuto explained.

"Does Utau play instruments to?"

"Just the general: guitar, piano, guitar. Basically, what you need as a pop-star" he shrugged.

"Okay, what do you want me to sing?" Amu asked, feeling awkward once again. Ikuto looked thoughtful for a brief moment before a grin graced his features. He whispered the song to Amu's ear. She blushed but nodded, "I know it" she replied once Ikuto asked if she even knows it. Nodding, Ikuto was once again struck with a question,

"Should I use a guitar or a piano?"

"Whichever you're more comfortable with"

"Okay, I'm using a guitar on this one; I'll play the piano for you later"

"Ass…"

"Bad language, Amu" Ikuto teased. He stood up and walked over to one of the shelves. Pushing the glass aside, he brought one pale hand and carefully grabbed the midnight blue guitar. He walked back to Amu but decided to sat down on the floor instead,

"What are you doing? Sit back here!" Amu commanded, blushing at the way Ikuto sat by her feet.

"No way, I'm serenading you" he teased. Amu's blush increased ten folds,

"Have it your way!" she huffed, and then crossed her arms. Ikuto shrugged, and, wearing his trademark smirk, began strumming the first chords of the song. After a few seconds, Amu's anger dissipated as she began humming to the tune of the song, "_She said, 'I was seven and you were nine I looked at you like the stars that shined in the sky, the pretty lights'_," Amu began to sing, her voice a bit lower than her previous high-pitched, 12-year old singing voice. Amu had to admit, through all these years, she actually matured, especially with her singing. Heck, she even found out that her grandma's (mom) family actually sung in operas before! **(I recommend you read the lyrics or even listen to the song because some of the lyrics' meanings will be a part of this Fanfic soon)**

_'And our daddies used to joke about the two of us  
Growing up and falling in love  
And our momma smiled and rolled their eyes'_

_And said, 'Oh, my, my, my'_

Take me back to the house in the backyard trees  
Said you would beat me up, you were bigger then me  
You never did, you never did

Take me back when our world was one lot bad  
I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried  
Just two kids, you and I, oh, my, my, my, my

Well, I was sixteen when suddenly  
I wasn't that little girl you used to see  
But your eyes still shined like pretty lights

And our daddies used to joke about the two of us  
They never believed we really fall in love  
And our momma smiled and rolled their eyes

And said, 'Oh, my, my, my'

Take me back to the creek that's reaching dark  
Two A.M, riding in your truck  
Yet all I need is here next to me

Take me back to the time we had our very first fight  
Slamming our doors instead of kissing goodnight  
You stayed outside 'til the morning light, oh, my, my, my, my

A few years ago when comin' around  
We were sitting at our favorite spot in town  
Then you looked at me, got down on one knee

Take me back to the time when we walked down the aisle  
Our whole town came and our mommas cried  
You said, 'I do' and I did too

Take me home when we met so many years before  
Where we rock our babies on the very front porch  
After all this time, you and I

When I'll be 87 you'll be 89  
I'll still look at you like the stars that shine  
In the sky, oh, my, my, my" she finished, a smile gracing her beautiful features, "I love that song. It's one of my all-time favorites. It's just so…touching…" Amu said, "By the way, why did you ask me to sing it?"

"Nothing…" Ikuto shrugged, lying quite smoothly. Albeit she was a bit skeptical, Amu decided to let Ikuto's scheme slide. She shook her head quietly then hopped off the stool and sat down next to him. She remained quiet the whole time she placed her head on his shoulders and snuggled closer to him; she remained quiet the whole time Ikuto sat rigged before finally calming down a bit and wrapping his arms around her tiny frame; and she remained quiet when she heard him utter those words she was longing for all this time, "I love you" he said, his tone unfaltering because what he said was pure truth. His voice was laced with so much adoration that Amu thought she _felt _a strong force. She smiled,

"I know…" she giggled quietly to herself.

"Amu…" Ikuto drawled out again. He was about to speak when Amu cut him off,

"I still haven't lost our bet…"

"What bet?" Ikuto asked feeling quite lost. His confused face made Amu giggled, "Amuuuuu" he said playfully, loving every single happy sound that came out from Amu's lips. She stopped giggling after quite some time,

"You know, the bet; the one we made at the airport! I said I will find my true self, and I did; my true self is here with you guys…here with you" (lol. That was _muuuussssshhhhhyyyyy_), her golden eyes met his midnight ones.

"That's not our bet, Amu-_koi_" Ikuto smirked. Now it was Amu's turn to be confused,

"Huh? It wasn't? Then what was it?"

"Well, before that, I'd like to say sorry first…"

"Yeah, I'm sorry too. I mean, that was totally uncalled for—"

"No Amu, it's alright; it was my fault for suddenly appearing here without warning. Don't say sorry anymore, Amu. I know what pain I caused you, believe me, I've had it too, and it was just unfair of me to suddenly barge into your life once more…"

"Ikuto-baka, I've never shunned you from my life! Not once!"

"Really? I thought by now you and Tadase would be together…" he said with pain coloring his voice,

"No. Tadase and I are just good friends, Ikuto. What I shunned away was the bad memory of you leaving, not you; just that" Amu smiled. After a while, Ikuto, himself, _smiled _as well, leaving Amu to have the breath knocked the hell out of her. Well, you can't really blame her, because it was one _helluva _smile.

"Good to hear, coz now, the bet would still be on." His smile disappeared and was then replaced by his smirk. Oh how Amu longed to see that smile again! But somehow, she also liked bad-boy Ikuto, probably even more than sweet-guy Ikuto.

"And that is…?" Amu asked, a delicate pink brow arched. Ikuto smirked. He leaned closer to Amu until his mouth was by her ear. Amu, who was blushing furiously all this time, felt her throat dry up and was unable to speak,

"Make you fall for me" and then he bit her ear just like how he always used to.

**

* * *

**

**(1) Make sense? I never thought I could come up with this. Haha, should I copyright this crap? Nah, that's probably too much. Hahahah. This was soooo fun to write; I should try writing more like this; my classmates and schoolmates seems to find this and the rest of my…err…_philosophies, _inspiring. Hahaha XD**

**(2) Did you guys know the reason why we faint whenever there is some sort of strong force by our nape? If you do, then you may stop reading, but if you don't, well, it's because that part is the portion of our brain that controls our breath. And basically, when our breathing stopped, we block out. I think, if my ears weren't deceiving me during that boring Biology class, it even controls the heart beat. Haha. Sorry, I don't listen too well at Bio since I've developed some sort of a trauma for my teacher after she yelled at me for group cleaning issues. And it strengthened more when she joked with me…creepy, I tell ya. **

**Me: lolz, the 'reality' runt was…unnecessary. Haha. I loved the KuTau and AmuTo in here. Btw, I don't own the song, kay? Taylor Swift does! In case you don't know it, it's called _Mary's Song (Oh My, My, My)_. I'll have an AmuTo or NatsuMikan fanfic about it some time in the future. Haha. **

**Ikuto: nice…so I play the guitar, huh?**

**Me: Yeah, I figured you just had to…or at least, for this chapter. **

**Ikuto: since I loved this chapter, please review. Oh, and you've updated faster! Usually it takes you two days. **

**Me: let's just say the readers and their reviews really make my day. **

**Ikuto: awesome. Well, the more reviews, the more AmuTo, right?**

**Me: that's right. **

**Ikuto: -smirks- if that's the case then you, the one reading this, review. **

**Me: good boy ^_^**


	6. The Start of the first Arc!

**Disclaimer: I'd like to say my utmost respect: I do not own Shugo Chara!**

**Ikuto: That doesn't make sense**

**Me: oh but this chap will XD btw, the inspiration came from a 'note' my friend was tagged at it FB, when I read the note, I was immediately, OMG, this should go with Teenage Rhapsodies! And then, the next was like, I'll also write a NatsuMikan about this! **

**Ikuto: freak…**

**0—0—0**

**The Rule of the Guys  
**_Scene I Act I _

Brotherly love

**0—0—0 **

Amu and Ikuto did not know how long they stayed inside the room, just teasing one another and catching up to the time they were separated. Of course Amu's blush almost never left her cheeks through out their conversation and that smirk on Ikuto's lips seemed like it would be etched on there forever.

"Hey what time is it?" Amu suddenly asked, standing up from her previous position of sitting between Ikuto's legs, wrapped around in his embrace. Ikuto pouted at the lost of contact between them but answered anyway,

"I think it should be around six or seven now, judging from the sunset" he shrugged. He stood up soon after, and then dusted off the invisible dirt that formed in his pants. He stretched like a cat and yawned, "I'm hungry; let's go downstairs" he said and grabbed Amu's hand, "So…we're a couple now?" he smirked.

"Ha! Fat chance!" Amu giggled, "Not yet, Ikuto. I haven't lost _your _bet yet" she smirked as Ikuto's face fell. The 20-year-old feigned hurt and placed a hand on his heart,

"Ouch, Amu-_koi_" upon the blush that crept on Amu's pale, unblemished face, Ikuto retrieved his smirk and added more effort to make it cockier, "Well, let's go now, hun. If you don't think we're a couple, well _I _do" he pointed out. Amu huffed but allowed herself to be dragged out once more by Ikuto. They exited the music room and walked through hallway after hallway, corridor after corridor, and descended stairs after stairs until they reached the first floor. They immediately went to the dining room where their group was preparing dinner,

"I dare say it went well?" Rima commented, sipping some of her orange juice.

"Sorry if we couldn't help out, guys" Amu said, pulling the chair in front of her. Ikuto sat down next to her, "We'll just take care of the dishes" she offered. Ikuto growled but didn't say anything. Utau entered the room, carrying a silver tray. She placed it on the center of the dining table, then took her seat across it. She sat next to Amu. Kukai took the sit next to her, followed by Yaya, Kairi, Tadase, Nagihiko, and finally, Rima, who was sitting next to Ikuto. The teens mumbled their 'ittadaikimasu!" before indulging in on the scrumptious dinner of steak, mashed potato, juice, some rice, and the rest of a typical Western-Eastern meal. Two pitchers of orange juices sat on each end of the table.

"Oishi!" Yaya commented, "I didn't know Utau-chan was a good cook!" she smiled, munching on some meat. Utau chuckled then ate some of her own food,

"I live alone Yaya, of course I have to learn to cook for myself" she said, then took a bite of some mashed potato.

"You'd make a good wife, Utau!" Kukai cheered, happily eating his mashed potatoes and steak at the same time. Utau choked on her steak, and Amu took the liberty of handing Utau her glass of orange juice. Quickly downing the beverage, Utau heaved some breaths and then glared at Kukai,

"The ages where a girl is judged by her cooking and cleaning are long over, moron," she seethed. Kukai shrugged, then continued feasting on his delectable meal, his grin never leaving his face as he did so.

0—0—0

_**After meal and after washing the dishes…**_

The gang where huddled inside the living room, the boys and girls all in their separate cliques. Sure, they might be a circle of friends but that doesn't mean there would be no other circles among the big circle. The ones who huddled together where, of course, Utau, Amu, Rima and Yaya, while the other group was composed of Kukai, Ikuto, Nagihiko, Kairi and Tadase; they were all whispering amongst themselves, quite a few meters of distance between them.

"So, ma man, it seems like you've finally taken it to the next stage, huh?" Kukai grinned at Ikuto who just shrugged in return,

"Maybe…" he trailed off slyly. The guys patted him in congratulations while the black cat just smirked. It was Kairi's turn to speak next,

"Well you're not alone, Ikuto-san, it seems that _some _of us also have _something _to share…" he said suggestively, eyeing Kukai with equal mischief as he did so. Tadase and Nagihiko also gave the brunette knowing stares as the said guy shrugged,

"What's to tell?" he replied, shrugging. Ikuto nudged him,

"So you've done well with my sister?" he began in a teasing manner.

"We just hugged, that's all"

"Oh no, Souma, it's not just '_that's all_', oh no, no, no…" he then frowned, "Are you sure you're worthy of my sister? What if you hurt her? You're not cheating on her, are you? Are you sure you aren't? Good, because if you do, so help me Souma I will personally hunt you down and tear you apart limb from limb. Oh and visitation hours would be from 2 pm up to 8 pm _only_. And you are only allowed to see her on the weekends, Fridays included. Oh and—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Tsukiyomi! You've got a hell lot of rules for me just to _see _your sister and yet your harassing Amu?"

"Of course! We're biologically—"

"I won't allow that! Just coz you're older than us doesn't mean that you could just go pestering Amu whenever you please! And if you think you could just _waltz in _her room whenever you want, then you're damn wrong, bro! You can't go past 9; didn't you know the nine-o-clock rule!? God, you didn't know!! And you aren't supposed to be with her on the weekdays. You're distracting her from school. And do you even love her? I mean, sure you did, but you've already hurt her—"

"Don't tell me what to do, punk. Like you've said, I'm _older _than all of you which means I'm far more matured than _you_. I would _know _just _how _to take _care _of my girl!" Ikuto crossed his arms and glared at Kukai. Kukai gave him an equally challenging look,

"Oh yeah? If you're so matured then you guys probably have an "interest";"—air quotes—"gap. If you know what I mean"

"No, I'm not sure I do…" Ikuto raised his eye brow.

"Ha! See? You don't even understand me!"

"Well you're talking in cryptic" the older boy countered but the younger ignored him and continued his rant.

"At least if it's _me _and _Utau_, well, we _are _of the same age!" he smirked, then it was his turn to cross his arms. For what seemed like an eternity, the two guys just glared at one another, a blue, electric current flowing from their blazing eyes. The guys around them sweat-dropped, not even bothering to stop their challenging stares, and that challenging aura that surrounded the two of them, "give it up, Tsukiyomi, I'm a much more better boyfriend _and _older-brother figure than you'll ever be" Kukai smirked.

Ikuto smirked as well, "Pfft, yeah right. Listen, why don't you and I make a bet to see who's the better boyfriend _and _brotherly figure" Ikuto dared. Kukai smirked again and then nodded, clearly liking this idea.

"Alright, I get Amu on the Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and you get her for the rest of the weeks; just the same with Utau on the days that you're with Amu, _I'll _be with your sister, how's that?"

"Good. Hey, Tadase, Fujisaki, and you, I don't know what your name is, but are you guys up for it?" Ikuto pointed at each one of them. Kairi pushed his spectacles up,

"I am Sanjo Kairi, I think we've met before"

"Yes, you're that kid that confessed to Amu;"—Kairi blushed—"Plus, you're Yukari-san's little brother, correct? Alright, you guys would monitor our progress with the girls. Tadase takes Utau and Nagihiko takes Amu while _you_;"—points again at Kairi—"Will tally our overall progress, how's that?"

"Sounds good to me" Nagihiko shrugged. Tadase and Kairi just nodded, not really into having someone else steal Amu; but then again, they never really _owned _Amu or had into some sort of…_engagement_ or at the very least, more-than-friendly terms with her like how she always had with Ikuto.

"Well, I'm not sure the girls will agree. Besides, how do you guys make progress anyway and how should we know what to monitor?" Kairi asked, pushing his glasses up once more. Nagihiko and Tadase nodded in agreement, "For sure you won't let us see you guys in your "private" moment. Perhaps you have some list or something that contains the tasks you must accomplish, and that we will be grading you via our observation of the achievement of your task, is that correct?"

"Bam, Kairi! You hit the nail square on the head!" Kukai cheered. He then brought out one piece of folded bond paper. In it was some text written in pink, Comic Sans MS. He spread out the sheet and allowed the guys to huddle up and read the contents, "I got this list from my bro's girlfriend." He said.

Ikuto began reading the contents aloud, "_When she walks away from you mad  
Follow her_

When she stare's at your mouth  
Kiss her

When she pushes you or hit's you  
Grab her and don't let go

When she start's cussing at you  
Kiss her and tell her you love her

When she's quiet  
Ask her what's wrong

When she ignores you  
Give her your attention

When she pull's away  
Pull her back

When you see her at her worst  
Tell her she's beautiful

When you see her start crying  
Just hold her and don't say a word

When you see her walking  
Sneak up and hug her waist from behind

When she's scared  
Protect her

When she lay's her head on your shoulder  
Tilt her head up and kiss her

When she steal's your favorite hat  
Let her keep it and sleep with it for a night

When she teases you  
Tease her back and make her laugh

When she doesn't answer for a long time  
Reassure her that everything is okay

When she looks at you with doubt  
Back yourself up

When she say's that she like's you  
she really does more than you could understand

When she grab's at your hands  
Hold her's and play with her fingers

When she bump's into you  
bump into her back and make her laugh

When she tell's you a secret  
keep it safe and untold

When she looks at you in your eyes  
dont look away until she does

When she misses you  
she's hurting inside

When you break her heart  
the pain never really goes away

When she says its over  
she still wants you to be hers

Stay on the phone with her even if shes not saying anything.-

When she's mad hug her tight and don't let go-

When she says she's ok dont believe it, talk with her- because 10 yrs later she'll remember you-

Call her at 12:00am on her birthday to tell her you love her-

Call her before you sleep and after you wake up-

Treat her like she's all that matters to you.-

Tease her and let her tease you back.-

Stay up all night with her when she's sick.-

Watch her favorite movie with her or her favorite show even if you think its stupid.-

Give her the world.-

Let her wear your clothes.-

When she's bored and sad, hang out with her.-

Let her know she's important.-

Kiss her in the pouring rain.-

When she runs up at you crying, the first thing you say is;  
"Who's butt am I kicking babe?" Wow" Ikuto breathed, finishing the rest of the sentences. Kukai counted quickly,

"Thirty-nine challenges, not bad!" he grinned, "Okay, since we only have a month to do this all, I say we do two challenges a day, that way, it will only take up 20 days of our vacation, we spend one day on the judging, and the remaining days to just enjoy ourselves, how's that?"

"Not bad, Souma. Alright, we agree, right?" the guys all nodded their heads. They extended their hands and hit their fists while muttering their loud, "YEAH!"s. The girls rolled their eyes at this exchanged.

"Let's go upstairs. So…do you wanna sleep at the same room or we'll have our separate?" Utau asked, grinning at the girls.

"SLEEP AT THE SAME ROOM!!" Kukai grinned; Ikuto wolf-whistled, while the rest of the guys grinned sheepishly. A nerve popped out of Utau's forehead.

"I wasn't talking to you, you morons!" she seethed then threw her slippers at her brother and at Kukai. The former dodged it but the latter got hit square in the face. The girls giggled while the guys gulped, "Now girls, sleep together or separately?"

"TOGETHER!" they all cheered. Quickly standing up, the girls rushed to Utau's room and locked themselves there. After a while, the guys heard footsteps upstairs and, judging from the loud cusses that echoed through the hallways, it was possible that they were dragging their heavy luggage inside the idol's room.

"Sigh…so much for bonding time" Kukai mumbled, dejectedly. The guys nodded then growled, "So, who wants to watch porn?"

0—0—0

_**At the girls' room…**_

"Okay girls, I've got a foot massage and some other stuffs here" Utau said, raking through some of her things. She brought out a foot massager, hair irons of all kinds: a straightening iron, crimpling iron and curling iron, a box of manicures and pedicures, some lotions, three blow dryers, some makeup kits, and other female beautifying products.

"Where did you get all of that?" Rima asked, picking up the straightening iron.

"The companies I model for usually give samples of their products for free. I've got a lot more at home but these here, they are given to me whenever we would have a shoot here at this house" she explained, plugging in the crimpling irons, "Now I've always wanted to see Amu with curls" she smirked deviously.

"I'll do Yaya" Rima added. The two blondes eyed each other and grinned mischievously. Their eyes sparked with Machiavellian intentions that were, pretty much, obvious to the two brunettes slowly backing away from them now…

0—0—0

_**The Next day…**_

Kukai stretched and got up from his bed. The sun was not tolerating anymore laziness for its rays glared mightily through the blinds of the guestroom given to him. The brunette boy hopped off the green queen bed and did some stretching to ease out his muscles. He looked around the room: his bed, covered with lime green comforters, blazing green pillows and sleek green blankets, was at the very northern center, a few meters parallel to the window, with blinds cascading down carelessly. The bright yellow curtains was swept to the side and tied in place by two black ribbons. On the polished, wooden floor was a circular carpet with alternating green and yellow colors. Athwart to the bookshelf was a yellow wardrobe allotted for guests to use. There was a wooden bookshelf stowed to the side with several romance and mystery books carefully packed together. The room was pretty simple all in all, but Kukai liked it as is.

The brunette boy grinned then yawned loudly, "Man! This bed is awesome!" he looked back at bed again, then towards the pile of clothes he had not bothered to unpack last night, after all of those 'excitements' and 'thrills' they've had. Yes, even the all-too-innocent Tadase proved that he wasn't all goody-goody in the head after all. Kairi wasn't much of a surprise; of course, geniuses like him ought to know their fair-share of information about the 'human life' (and everything else about _how_ to make…_life_). When that spectacled-lad heaved sighs after 'bothersome' moments, he finally admitted to them all that his soldier knew exactly what to…err…_do_. Nagihiko, finally, was a much more different story. When the lad revealed to Ikuto and Kairi the story of his cross-dressings, the two latter boys thought they knew enough of the tale to last through the whole marathon. But, oh, how wrong they were. When Nagihiko said he had to study about the female characteristics, he didn't exactly _included _the part when he also had to study female _anatomy. _Just imagine how shocked the boys were when the purple-head started pointing out to the screen and making different comments such as, "_It's _too hairy", "Kinda _flat_" and so on, and so forth, all the while boldly tracing the "parts" with his index finger through the screen.

"Those guys are nuts…" Kukai muttered, his trademark grin etching on his face again. He stretched one last time before donning his slippers, not bothering to change out of his basketball jersey and black pajama pants with green highlights. He ruffled his hair in what seemed to be an attempt to calm it down before twisting the silver knob and exiting the room. Along the way, Kukai bumped against a very sleepy Nagihiko, "Morning, sunshine" Kukai teased then placed a hand on Nagihiko's shoulders.

"Ugh, what time is it?" Nagihiko mumbled, almost incoherently. Kukai let go of the lad, feeling pity all over his systems. You see, _this _is what happens when guys stay up all night watching hardcore "action" and drinking some beer "just for the heck of it". Yes, they drank even though they were underage (well, Kukai **(1) **and Ikuto weren't) but that _did _serve its purpose though; they will _never ever _drink another bottle of beer _again. _Kukai grinned.

"It's about nine now, man. Oh, catch you later!" he said then quickly dashed off, leaving poor, hangover-ed Nagihiko to ponder his mistakes, quietly moping as he made his way through corridor after corridor and hall after hall in search of a bathroom…or for this case, anywhere where he can puke is good enough.

Kukai ran rapidly after the girl who strolled out of her room, still in her pajamas, "Yo! Hinamori!" And though throughout the years, Kukai Souma and his older-brother complex on the brunette has grown (the latter almost being close to a relationship as if they were actually biologically related), he still has not gotten over calling the pinkette by her surname. Occasionally, though, he would be calling her by her first name, but only 'occasionally'.

The said pinkette whipped her head to the side, her pink locks flying about. With some bags under her golden eyes, Amu stared at the brunette boy, a pink towel slung over her shoulders. "Yes?" she asked, waiting for a response from the boy. Kukai, in return, grinned then hurriedly placed an arm over her tiny shoulders. She slumped under his heavy weight.

"Sup?" Kukai asked casually. Amu, albeit feeling strong pressure on her shoulder blades, shrugged without any word escaping her lips. For quite some time, they continued to walk in silence, until they reached the dining room at the first floor. Kukai broke the blanketing quietness over them by hollering his greetings. His loud, "HELLO, PEOPLE!" reverberated through the yellow dining room. The teenagers muttered their groggy replies whereas poor victim, Hinamori rubbed her ears, thus eliciting an insincere apology from Kukai.

"Do you have to be so loud in the morning?!" Utau stepped out of the kitchen, a black apron draped over her white t-shirt and varsity shorts. She strolled barefooted across the dining hall and settled the silver platter, once again, at the center of the table. Pulling the lid, she revealed traditional bacons, hams, eggs, and hotdogs for breakfast. Kukai sat down, pulled the chairs next to him, and motioned for Amu and Utau to sit as well. Through reluctant silence, Amu sat down and bit her lip; she was thinking something hard. Utau, on the other hand, rolled her amethyst eyes then walked away. A few minutes later, she reentered and sat down, nonetheless, without putting up so much as an argument, and then began feasting on her meal. Kukai grinned in achievement.

The clock ticked a few silent seconds and then by the time it struck 8, everyone was settled in their seats, including poor, nauseated Nagihiko, with his purple hair strutting about like a messy haystack, his usually pale, unblemished skin covered with patches of swollen red and heavily dark eye bags. The lad had been too preoccupied with the suddenly purposeful toilet that he had not recalled breakfast until he staggered up, his hands barely providing him with support, and reckoned that no one was probably in his/her room and was, most likely, downstairs, enjoying scrumptious meals he had no more appetite of. He sighed then placed his fork down. Rima eyed him suspiciously.

"Is something wrong?" she asked through half-empty mouth of bacon and egg. After a moment, she stuffed another egg, this time with a hotdog, then chugged it down with a generous gulp of lemon Nestea. She quietly finished her meal, the last one to, actually, and then wiped her mouth with the table napkin at her right, "Who's in charge of the dishes?" Rima looked at Amu before standing up.

"Not me, I already did it last night with Ikuto" said Amu defensively, crossing her arms as well. Jade and midnight blue orbs widened simultaneously. They both smirked: Ikuto and Kukai did. Ikuto snaked an arm around Amu's shoulders while Kukai feigned hurt—yet that silly smirk lingered—and placed a hand on his chest.

"Why Amu, I _didn't _know!" Kukai bit back his laugh while Ikuto proceeded to hug Amu from behind the waist; he nuzzled her hair, then finally, her neck, before he placed his chin on her shoulder.

"Oh, _Amu_; I thought we decided to keep _it _a secret from others…silly _Amu_…" Ikuto snuggled Amu's neck once again, owning a shudder from the latter. Amu tried to pry him away but it was to no avail; Ikuto was much stronger a person than she was and there was nothing more to that discussion. Period; nothing else.

"Huh…what are you talking abo—YOU PERVERTS!!!" Amu screeched deafeningly when those wicked ideas hidden behind not-so-subtle innuendos, settled to her. She glared, thrashed, and screamed curses every now and then. Kukai and Ikuto alternately laughed and 'ouch'ed every time Amu's body part would come in contact with their own, but nonetheless, they didn't mind. By the time Amu finished her little tantrum, Kukai and Ikuto had visible red and bluish marks on their skins. Satisfied with her…_accomplishment_, Amu smirked, stomped her foot, and exited the room. As she left, the two boys realized they were alone.

"So..." Kukai began, not sure what to say.

"We begin tomorrow" Ikuto smirked.

"HELL YEAH! OPERATION: IDENTIFY WHO'S THE BETTER BROTHER _AND _BOYFRIEND SHALL COMMENCE TOMORRO!!!" the younger bellowed.

"Dude, next time, _I _name the so-called operations"

"Surreeeee…"

**0—0—0**

**(1)Err…I'm not so sure about this one; see, in my country, 18 is our legal age, however, in the US, 17 is legal (at least, from what I see in TV). I'm not so sure what age would be considered an adult age in Japan so let's just assume that it is 17. **

**Me: FINALLY!!! I'VE UPDATED AFTER WHAT? TWO WEEKS? HAHAHA :D sorry if I took this long, you guys. Actually, I still have exams later but I decided to post this because I think I've kept you long enough. **

**Ikuto: well about time! **

**Me: Reviews are highly APPRECIATED!!!**


	7. Swimming is so Fun

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara!**

**Me: I'm updating quickly to make up for the time I did not… btw, chats will be shorter. **

**Ikuto: Hallelujah!!!**

**Me: Oh and thanks to my reviewers for the whole "21" legal age thing. I appreciated it :D Oh Yeah, and one more thing: SORRY IF THIS TOOK FOREVER! Christmas vacation had long ended and I was immediately bombarded by a series of exams and inhumane stress (I can make L run for his eye-bags). Right now, I still have four major tests coming up, not to mention my unit tests, trainings, and contests, but I hope I could still keep in touch with my precious computer T_T **

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* * *

**The next day, Amu Hinamori quietly walked outside the house. It was only 6:30 in the morning and her friends were most likely still snoring and/or hogging the covers despite the absence of competition (Kukai). She threw on a pair of white flip-flops and then walked through sand-covered ground. With her pink-and-yellow horizontally striped bikini on, Amu donned an oversized Beyond Birthday shirt with denim shorts to cover her swimwear. She ran towards the sea and then breathed in fresh gulps of unharmed air.

"Ah this is the life" Amu sighed then flopped down on the sand. She threw away her flip-flops and allowed the sand to dig in to her toenails as she buried her feet deeper. Soon enough, she felt a presence next to her, "We should go here more often" she suggested. She saw the intruder shrug.

"I don't know about that; life's too exciting in the city"

"Don't be so uptight, Utau; learn how to have fun" Amu said. Utau shrugged again, and then buried her hands and feet in the sand. She sported denim shorts, a pair of green flip-flops, and only had her green-and-white polka-dotted bikini top, "You know, with that outfit of yours, I can't help but think it's meant for my brother" Amu grinned, already used to addressing Kukai as his brother.

"Am not, Amu, you're just too imaginative. It just so happens that this is the first pair of swimsuit I found. So, instead of having to go through the trouble of rummaging through my clothes, I settled on this one" Utau calmly explained. Amu shrugged,

"Touché, Utau, you have a way of stirring up the conversation to favor you. You play your cards well" Amu commented. Utau grinned.

"Oh and who is _that_ supposed to be; some guy to make Ikuto jealous? For a guy, he sure looks creepy" Utau replied. Amu defensively wrapped her arms around herself and then twisted her body so that the design on her shirt was almost shielded from Utaus' peripheral vision.

"Don't you dare insult BB-kun!" Amu began defensively, "L may be cuter and more adorable, and sure Near is cute and all, and maybe Mello is my ideal bf… but BB is certainly _the _bad boy!" she said. Lost at the otaku-language, Utau shrugged and said nothing anymore. For a long time, they just sat there without anybody speaking. After a while, they found their silent sanctuary **(1) **suddenly interrupted by a loud, booming voice. The girls groaned.

"HEY LADIES!" Kukai Souma hollered. He flopped down next to Utau, clad only in green and yellow striped boxers. He revealed his six-pack abs for the world to see.

"You match" Amu giggled.

"Too bad we don't" the pinkette heard a masculine voice next to her. Soon enough, she felt a presence settle itself on the empty space beside her. Afterwards—almost as if Amu expected it—she felt the intruder playing with locks of her pink hair, "Oh well, pink and blue _match _right?"

"Don't push it, Ikuto" Amu grumbled, before the idea hit her, "Hey, how did you know I was wearing pink swimsuit anyway!" she seethed. Ikuto chuckled.

"I didn't!" he said defensively, "It was…a guess?"

"Sure it is, pervert" she stood up, yawned, and stretched (almost too much for Ikuto to handle). "Ugh, sitting too much makes me stiff" she commented before doing some things like warm up exercises.

"Who is _that_?" Ikuto seethed.

"I told you he'd be jealous"

"The love of my life"

"I thought it was Tsukiyomi…"

"Yeah, I thought it was me!" Ikuto growled, clearly pissed that his precious _woman _was in love with a two-dimensional character of a manga whose plot deems unrealistic enough. He crossed his arms over his chest, angered about the whole fan-girling hype his "girlfriend" was in to, "Who _is _that…_guy_!?" he glowered at the drawing sketched on Amu's shirt.

Amu stared, incredulous. By what sort of doggone force did this universe have!? Seriously though, it was stupid enough to point out that a real-life guy could get jealous of a character from a manga, but for the said guy to _actually_ be jealous was even stupider. For crying out loud, dear Kami-sama—or whatever heavenly force was listening out there—, he is _just _a drawing! What was wrong with this guy? "Ikuto, what's the biggie? He's _just _a _drawing_!" Upon hearing her words of…err…"encouragement", Ikuto smirked.

"Good. Because if I find out that you and him are dating, so help me Amu—"

"Sheesh, dude, get a grip!" Amu snapped, "And FYI, BB's my _destiny_; we don't need to date, we're already soul mates." Obviously lost in her own fantasies, Amu sighed dreamily. Ikuto rolled his eyes, clearly displeased by her…_choice of words_, to say the least. God damn it, what's so good about a guy with freaky black hair, insanely black and heavy bags under his eyes, crouched in such a weird position he dared call "bird" position, and bloody all over while, might he add, clutching a damn kitchen knife with red, crimson blood dripping from it's tip!? What was up with that bird position anyway; endorsing a new style to try out in bed? Was "dog-style" an old thing now? Thoughts like that made Ikuto almost chuckle, but he concealed the embarrassment tailing his sudden outburst of a happy sound with a cough so close to a real one.

"Whatever" he muttered, after a few series of coughing. He stood up and dusted off some of the sand that stuck on his dark blue trunks. With only a wife beater to shield his torso from the world's eyes, Ikuto happily showed off what perfectly toned muscles he had. And his biceps and triceps, dear Kami! You would be an idiot to assume that he is not some sort of model or something. He could make any Calvin Klein model run for their money (and looks), "I wanna swim" he announced after a while, preparing to remove his shirt. He tugged on the fabric, swiftly pulled it over his head, and tossed it to the side. Soon enough, Kukai followed him and cannonball-ed into the sea. Great big splashes created by his weight were sent towards the girls, nearly soaking them had their reflexes been slower.

"Kukai!", "Souma!", "Dude!" Amu, Utau, and Ikuto yelled simultaneously as the brunette rose up to the surface for badly-needed oxygen. He grinned coyly at them, "Don't be such a killjoy, people" he said, before descending once again. Soon after, Ikuto followed and huge ripples, accompanied by not-so-gentle splashes surfaced. The girls shrugged before they removed their unnecessary clothing and joined the guys. When their feet touched the cool waves of the ocean, Utau held out her hand to stop Amu.

"STOP!" She suddenly screeched, catching the brunette off-guard. Amu fell on the sand, opposite the ocean waves that hugged it. Her butt and the rest of her lower body were suddenly invaded by sand that stuck to her like glue. Disgusted, Amu quickly dipped on the water to wash off the sand on her body.

"What is it, woman?!" she glowered, clearly not liking the itchiness the sand gave her. She glared at Utau; the latter glared back.

She said only two words, upon which brought forth the immediate—almost reflex action—of Amu's legs. Her motor neurons suddenly didn't need the signal anymore from her brain. Quickly scampering towards the house, Amu and Utau disappeared from sight in no longer than 10 seconds, which, of course, left the boys bewildered in their trunks, feet not-so-firmly planted on the sandy grounds of the water, with their bodies slightly swaying from the gentle waves of the ocean. Unconscious and rather too preoccupied with the mysteries of female minds, it took less than a minute for the guys to realize (and recuperate) that they were just knocked off their feet, quite literally, by the girls. Actually, it was the ocean's sudden mood-swing that, literally, gave them a whiplash but since they were ogling at the girls, technically, it would be their fault.

"Ugh!" Kukai choked on some sand, spitting it out as he and Ikuto slowly made their way towards the shore, exhausted (or rather breathless), and flopped down on the thick sand, some of the white substance sticking on their butts and legs. "That was lame, man" the brunette wailed again, eyeing the now-gentle ocean with longing green eyes.

"Look at the bright side; at least the girls weren't here to see that" Ikuto smirked before shrugging. "Now _that _would have been _lame_" he added. Kukai quickly retrieved his grin and immediately reverted to his all-too-jolly self. Sometimes, it made Ikuto actually wonder if the "opposites attract" crap actually exist; Utau was dead serious, Kukai was as active as a five-year-old; Amu was, quite in all aspects, innocent, and he, well, he was a different matter. Said boy of his interest then stood up, punching his left fist in the air.

"Hell yeah! You're right, dude; well, it _was _the girls fault why that happened to us, but no point in brooding over the past" Kukai said, jovial as ever. He grinned; somehow, it made the older boy wonder if he had some sort of Barbie surgery that had a grin permanently implanted on him. "And speaking of the girls, where are they?"

"Beats me; the better question would be why on earth did they run with just two words? I mean, you say you love them, they'll give you a 'hm, okay' like it's nothing; you tell them _sun block _in a swim trip, they act like its 2012; seriously!" Ikuto complained. Kukai nodded in agreement.

"Women, sheesh; they're weird"

"Yeah, and Miley Cyrus is not a bitch" Utau's voice suddenly came in. She discarded any other articles of clothing aside from her green two-piece and a pair of yellow flip-flops. Amu, on the other hand, still wore that goddamn shirt of hers, but nonetheless, she was flaunting her creamy legs for the whole world to see. And this, by the way, got Ikuto on his feet, his knees almost giving up on him. Whereas Kukai is a different matter when he totally fell to his knees and got Utau and Amu giggling.

"She is?"

"Kukai get up, you're embarrassing me" Amu warned jokingly, still stiffening some giggles, "and no; Bitchy Cyrus is and will _always _be a bitch **(2)**" Amu barked the last part. Utau nodded in agreement. The boys, as boys, were, obviously, clueless on the girls', rather, increasing hatred towards the pop-star, who, as they claim, "has no talent whatsoever", especially (and most _importantly_), in singing.

"Well, enough on that ladies," Ikuto said, rather smoothly, in such a suave voice it can have those radio broadcasters run for their money. Utau scoffed, used to her brother's rather stupid and too blatant "seduction" techniques; had she been little obsessive sister, she would have gone all gaga over this Adonis. But things have changed for all of them and Utau, as much as she tries to hide it, has admitted defeat and accepted that she, like anyone else, was just a sister and will always be a sister. When she looked back at the times she used to tackle Ikuto to the ground, when she compares her self to who she used to be before, she found it rather hard to believe that it was her.

"Are we gonna swim or not?" Amu complained, trying to ignore the obvious seductive hints behind Ikuto's sultry-sweet voice. He smirked at her as she peered through her pink bangs, golden eyes clashing with midnight ones. She said nothing more when Kukai hollered his agreement and cannonball-ed once again into the still-calm ocean. A few minutes later, Ikuto did the same and created a stronger and wider splash; nearly drenching the girls had their reflexes been not fast enough. Today, they seem to be doing that a lot.

"Could you _please _stop doing that!?" Utau complained as the boys resurfaced. Amu crossed her arms. "It's getting annoying" she added. Walking towards the ocean, Amu saw the manner the idol sauntered; it was like she was catwalk-ing or some sort. When the gentle waves embraced her feet, Utau briefly inhaled before quickly jumping to a deeper part a few feet away from Ikuto and Kukai. The water was now by her waist when she resurfaced. She ducked again and by the time she went up for air once more, the water stopped by her neck; she was now floating. "C'mon, Amu" the idol motioned. Amu did almost the same as Utau, only she stopped by a few feet nearer the sand.

"Guys, seriously, the ocean floor creeps me" Amu confessed, swimming closer to Ikuto's waiting arms like a little girl to her dad. When her body came in contact with his hands, he effortlessly placed her on his shoulders. Giggling, Amu playfully messed with Ikuto's hair. Afterwards, she began to fix it, her hands gently running through wet midnight blue locks. "It's like there are too many plants or something" she added.

"I agree, one hundred percent." Utau swam closer to Kukai. She piggybacked on the boy, a little bit higher than the normal piggyback. She was so close to Kukai's shoulders, but decided not to since Kukai was not as tall as Ikuto, and she was afraid she might sink them both.

"If you're so freaked out about it, why don't we just use the pool?" Ikuto offered, recalling the indoor pool and the backyard pool the house had. Utau shrugged before she looked at her brother indifferently. Amu, still on his shoulders, seemed in deep thought, pondering over the endless possibilities two pools were yet to offer. She barely noticed when Ikuto untangled her from his shoulders and carried her in front of him instead. "But of course, _this _will always be better." He teased, snuggling his nose on the crook of Amu's neck. Amu giggled, feeling the tickling sensation of Ikuto's breath by her throat.

"Stop it!" she managed to say in between giggles.

"That would defeat the purpose of the excursion, Ikuto" Utau replied, amethyst orbs gazing at the blue horizon. "If we wanted to swim in a pool, we could have just gone to a nearby resort, _not _this place" she said. Ikuto pondered this answer for a while before a nonexistent bulb lit in his head.

"Ah but privacy is something resorts can't offer you" he replied, hugging Amu closer. The girl blushed but said nothing.

"What are you—oh, you're right" Utau remarked. She hopped off Kukai, Amu followed soon, and then swam her way towards the shore. The guys stalled behind, enjoying the sanctuary brought about by the oceans. The blue and white hue of the scenery above, and the seascape below, created an atmosphere that had comfort all over it. Seagulls flew atop, their destination a mystery to the onlookers on land; the fish swam below, in groups or alone, heading to wear they were bound to. The boys, after realizing they had nothing more to do, swam after the girls shortly.

"Hey wait up!" Kukai ran, soon, Ikuto. They quickly caught up with the girls who were donning their garments again. As the four of them approached the house, Utau turned to them.

"Don't come in; you're dripping wet. Wait here and we'll bring you some towels"

"And you're not?" Kukai challenged, not pleased with the idea of waiting outside.

"We have a towel" Amu replied. She held out a violet and a pink towel as the guys muttered their 'oooh's.

"Can we borrow it?" Ikuto proposed, inching closer to Amu's towel.

"No."

* * *

When Amu and Utau disappeared inside, it seemed as though forever stretched with the two guys. Kukai spoke first, breaking the boring silence blanketing them. He stood up and imitated Utau's trademark pose, "Dude, when will we start the plan?"

"Hmmm…_when she walks away mad…follow her_, right?"

"Yeah…?

"Then we'll piss her off"

"Dude I wanna live"

"It's your problem; unless of course…you want to back out?"

"NO WAY IN HELL! LET'S GO PISS THEM OFF RIGHT NOW!!"

"_You're _pissing _me _off right now" Utau suddenly butt in. She hurled a green towel at Kukai who caught it easily. Amu gently wrapped the towel around Ikuto's head, tiptoeing a bit. Ikuto smirked; he bent his knees a bit and had his eyes in level with Amu's. Amu, blushing, smiled and dried his hair. She continued with his neck and arms and slung the towel on Ikuto's neck after she was done. Ikuto whispered something in her ears which, naturally, made her blush but giggle.

"Idiot"

"Well aren't hearts in the air…" Utau said sarcastically. Amu blushed as Ikuto twirled her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Let's go, lovebirds" she led the way inside the house to the backdoor. "What time is it?"

"Seven thirty, why?"

"People are still asleep, what bums!" Utau commented. They walked through a series of hallways and corridors until they've reached a glass door that gave a wonderful view of the backyard. Utau pushed said door and allowed the others to follow. Amu and Kukai, unused to this new place, gasped in surprise as the scene unfolded before them. There was a really huge swimming pool at the center of "backyard". Several pots of plants of the greenest green lined up by the brick wall to provide them privacy. A beach ball floated by the crystal clear water of the pool. Those pool chaises lined up parallel to the water. Kukai quickly discarded his towel and, once again, cannonball-ed into the pool. He created a huge splash which the girls quickly eluded. Ikuto accepted it happily before he, himself, jumped into the water. Utau and Amu rolled their eyes as they sat by the pool stairs **(huh??)** and played with the water.

"You guys were already swimming!?" a childish voice boomed from behind them. four heads instantly whipped to the source of the sound. There was Yaya, clad in an adorable pink-and-white-polka dotted two piece, bouncing a volleyball in one hand while she eyed the four angrily. Rima was behind her, clad in a golden two-piece, with black flip-flops. Nagihiko, clad in black trunks, was busy joggling Rima's "celebrity" stuffs (sun blocks, magazines, etc), with both hands as he struggled to keep an upright position. Kairi and Tadase were blushing in their dark green and sky blue trunks respectively. They both uneasily shifted their gaze from the pinkette laughing at Yaya to the swimming pool sparkling with beautiful tiny lights that bounced back the rays of the sun.

"We woke up earlier than you bums" Utau smirked. Yaya fumed.

"It was a good thing Kairi was sharp; he knew you guys were up and swimming" Rima commented, glaring as well. She wanted to swim, damn it, yet they left her behind? Someone was going to pay…

"Haha…but it was like Utau said. We were up already at 6…or 6:30" Amu giggled. She then decided it was about time to wet her whole body and not just her feet. She stretched out her hands and, like a mother motioning for her baby to approach her, wiggled her fingers lightly. Ikuto, naturally, swam to her. From seven feet, he approached the 5 feet water Amu was at. She leaped onto his arms and giggled like a kid, "Six!" she said as Ikuto nodded and swam towards the six-foot-deep part of the pool. Amu took this time to separate from him and float on her own. Being 5"6 wasn't exactly enough to stand—even on tiptoes—on a 6-feet-pool.

"You're such a kid" Ikuto said in a hushed tone. Moments like this where the only time when they would forget where they were, forget they weren't even alone in the first place, forget that there were other people watching, forget that they weren't the only entities in this world. Nothing matters right now, nothing…no one but the two of them. Amu giggled.

"You know I can't be like this forever" she whispered back.

As the couple were engrossed in their little world, the rest of the gang decided it was time to swim in the pool; it was 8 am already. They hopped, cannonball-ed, tiptoed, waded, and eventually swam in the luke-warm water, batthing under the warm rays of the golden sunlight, shyly obsucring behind the clouds that floated by the east. The tweet-tweet of the birds, the whoosh-whoosh of the ocean, and the clang-clang of the chimes orchestrated the carefree giggles and hearty laughter erupting from the nine teenagers enjoying their own little happy-bubble together.

As Kairi resurfaced, his glasses sitting snugly by one of the chaises, he remembered the little bet Ikuto and Kukai had the other night ago. He swam deftly towards Kukai who was busy coughing out water after Utau deliberately drowned him with her inhumane strength. "Kukai, what of the bet?"

"Wha-cough-ddaya-cough-mean?" he said in between coughs. He finally managed to free his body off the unwanted water and breathed a sigh of relief. He limped his way out of the swimming pool and flopped down on the cold, wet floor. "Man I'm bumped!" he whined. Kairi followed suit and sat down next to him, his eyes on the teens swimming about.

"Utau-san is tough, isn't she?" Kairi sighed. He smiled slightly when he saw Kukai's face stretch into a gentle grin; no perverted thoughts, no weird pranks formulating about in that doggone mind of his, no nothing; just pure admiration (and _love_). "What about now, Kukai? When will you and Tsukiyomi-san begin the bet?" Kairi probed.

Kukai absentmindedly sighed, "I'm not sure" he confessed, "Maybe later, but not now; the mood's too good to be ruined" he smiled again. He sat up and propped himself on his elbows. He eyed Utau again, then Ikuto who was snugly cuddling Amu in his arms as both of them disappeared under water.

"You know I can't wait forever…" Kairi muttered. Kukai saw right through the hidden meaning; he didn't mean the bet, he meant having to wait through the painful moments of sweet exchanges between Amu and Ikuto. He reached out for his spectacles (the chaise was right behind them) and put them on. He ran a hand through his green hair and patiently awaited Kukai's reply.

"Dude, don't worry, we'll do it nice and quick" Kukai tried to assure him but instead earned a laugh from Kairi.

"What are you talking about? Did you think I meant about my feelings for Hinamori-san?" he laughed again, "sure, I still harbor some feelings for her but those are just admiration; not love anymore. I've long given up on her, since I figured out that her heart belongs to Tsukiyomi-san" he smiled.

"Wow. That's real mature." Kukai scratched his head, "I don't think I can give up Utau that easily" he grinned. "Well, about the bet, I think it would be nice to start it later at night" he said.

"I agree…"

"Well, we'll discuss things later but right now…" Kukai stood up, slowly backed away, and then began to ran at his "special training speed "WHOOHOO!!!!" he cheered as he cannonball-ed into the swimming pool creating one-helluva-splash.

"KUKAI!!!" the girls groaned and simultaneously whacked him on the head. Utau hit the hardest and sent him underwater.

"Ouch" he said through bubbles.

* * *

**GUYS….CAN I HAVE AT LEAST 10 REVIEWS???? I mean, your reviews inspire me so much, and I know I'm asking too much, but if you could give me 10 reviews, I would be very pleased. I'm trying to reach my first fanfic to have 100 reviews so, if you want, please help me by reviewing!! Thanks!!!!**

* * *

**(1) BlueRevenge if you're reading this (which I doubt), don't you dare comment about Silent Sanctuary!**

**BR: Idk the manga but…**_**Ikawwwww lamang ang akinggggg minamahaaaaaaaaalllll**_

**Me: Ugh! Shut up, you're ruining the song!**

**BR: Ooooh someone's in **_**love **_

**  
Me: Shut up, dummy. My heart belongs to L and only to L (and Mello and Near too). And btw, **_**FYI**_**, at least it wasn't **_**me **_**who had her bag **_**carried **_**by a certain **_**someone **_**who has the same **_**birthday **_**as her…**

**BR: Shut up…**

**(2) I hate her; she should rot in hell; if you love her—then go fuck her; if you don't, push her off the CN, I'll help you dig the grave and, if you'd like, decapitate the body. She's a bitch who should just die and, like I said, rot in hell. She has no life, she has NO TALENT, and, dear god, she doesn't even have a nice body. She's a fucking moronic shitty bitch who does nothing in her spare time, but fucks her camera and screams "I'm a cam whore" **

**pAula-p0tter: O.o**


	8. The Beginning of the bet: Task One!

**Disclaimer: I do not own**

**Ikuto: Freak…**

**Me: Yay for 2ne1! I just watched their most reason video, _Try to Copy(/Follow) Me_ and it was awesome! Also, I've seen a lot of G-Bom flicks from GDTV or 2ne1TV and I almost died :) ****BTW: Have you seen the newest Shugo Chara! chapter? It's Shugo Chara Encore—the sequel. It was filled with KUTAU!!!!! **

**Ikuto: that's just weird…**

**

* * *

**It's finally time…

It's the moment you've all been waiting for…

The beginning of the bet!

Who will win the first round? Find out!

In Ikuto vs. Kukai: _Round 1_!!!

**

* * *

**

_**When she walks away from you mad  
Follow her**_

* * *

When the clock almost sang the 20th hour tick tock, Souma Kukai's patience had eventually assuaged to a point where it was no longer an entity. He growled, tossed, and once, nearly jumped in the pool. The boys around him where nice enough to stop him on the last second; Tsukiyomi Ikuto not being one of them. Instead, the latter had found it actually amusing, and had not made any attempts of keeping the younger lad together, since he, himself, was bored—but not out of his mind. So he just sat there, smirking in content, and quietly rethinking his decision about letting the former court his little sister. He decided to be lenient, of course, and dispatched his thoughts, since he knew how "devastated" his sister would be.

"Reckon that guy ever went to an asylum?" he heard Sanjo Kairi mumble sheepishly beside him, as he pushed the spectacles up his nose. Ikuto didn't budge, instead, he remained unmoving like a statue. The blue-haired lad was amused, yes; he believed Kukai was insane, yes; but he didn't doubt the guy. Truthfully, he trusted the crazy Kukai more than he could ever trust the intellectual Kairi. Naturally, his possessive—and rather, very _jealous_—side has overwhelmed his sense of trust, and kept him from having faith on the nerdy boy.

"Souma-kun isn't _that_ nuts, you know" said the purple-haired lad, as he sat next to Kairi. His name rhymed with 'Nadeshiko' or something like that, but Ikuto could barely remember. He _looked _like the girl he's seen in pictures—the pretty girl who always dances. If Ikuto's memory served him right, then 'Nadeshiko' was, in fact, the girl's name, and this guy here—the one with freakishly long hair—was her supposed 'twin'. His name, Ikuto forgot, but he didn't feel the slightest bit guilty about it, let alone troubled. The oldest lad still remained impassive, no hints of emotion, save for the amusement flickering in his eyes, and the boredom evident on his voice.

"Nagihiko's right!" Kukai defended, punching his fists in the air. Ah. So that was his (Nagihiko's) name. Kukai took the empty sit beside Ikuto, who's blue eyes were now dull with sheer boredom. He then lost all his enthusiasm. The brown-haired guy face-palmed himself, and growled loudly, his high spirits suddenly gone with the wind. It was a young summer eve, but the activities had long slipped through their fingers, and stripped them off their sanities. When the five of them had realized that there was, in fact, nothing more to do, they decided to shuffle out of the backyard (probably in fear of jumping in the pool as well), and agreed that the best course of action right now would be to entertain themselves with technology. They ambled noisily to the game room, chatting animatedly about the possible games the Tsukiyomi vacation house was yet to offer them.

Thus, Ikuto had pulled out a brand new Nintendo Wii, an Xbox, and a PS3, complete with gaming consoles. He also took out, what seems to be, a very old dance pad. So old, the boys had troubles believing whether or not it was a real dance revolution pad. Ikuto had shrugged and claimed that he and Utau had always used it whenever they had the chance, and usually used it to hit each other (Utau, mostly) when they were pissed, thus justifying it's rather "haggard" appearance. Afterwards, he then brought forth several games, most of which were still inside their Wal-Mart cases, complete with their 20-dollar-price tags.

The boys have found the other games rather amusing, and so Ikuto had been forced to retrieve the dusty PS1 and PS2 he had kept in their basement. For the next hour, they have spent their time, lavishly lolled on the couch, or haphazardly sprawled on the floor, furiously punching buttons on their respective consoles as they battled Chun-Li with Ken in Street Fighter, The Hulk with Apocalypse in X-Men, other Marvel games, or as they jumped over turtles after turtles, and metal boxes after metal boxes in Super Mario, and other old games they have not played in god-knows-how-long.

Kukai was like a pro, despite the lack of experience. He quickly managed to master the game in no less than two battles, and had arisen to a professional level instantly. He even managed to beat the all-time winner, Ikuto in one of their duels. Afterwards, when they've had enough nostalgia, they settled on the Wii, and agreed first on tennis. When the console almost flew out of the window, Ikuto knew then that Kairi and/or Tadase were not to be athletes in the future. In the end, they decided to go nuts on Guitar Hero—the dance pad, all but remembered.

It was almost nine when they heard the loud "Ding Dong" of the doorbell echoing throughout the house. An ineffable instinct drove Kukai to his feet, running across the hallways to get as quickly as he could to the door, inconveniently located at the living room. He was panting really hard by the time he yanked the white door open. He leaned on the door frame for support. He smiled as he took in the familiar faces of the ladies, who deliberately—and quite obviously—took their time shopping in the nearby mall.

"Step aside" Hoshina Utau had threatened him with a glare. The lad shrugged it off with indifference, after he had composed himself. His "little sister", Hinamori Amu, flipped her bubble gum pink hair in a fashion that would have earned her millions, had it been in front of a camera for a famous shampoo commercial. She rolled her eyes at the immature display, albeit she would not admit to herself that she could be twice as immature as the two of them, when she was with Ikuto. Mashiro Rima followed suit, quietly glaring at the floor. Her brows were furrowed in deep thought as she settled the shopping bags she held on the floor. Yuiki Yaya was the last one to enter. She was giddy—bouncing up and down as she skipped her way inside the living room. She placed all her bags on the floor, a good distance away from Rima's to avoid confusion of which bag was whose. Amu and Utau had mimicked their actions, their bags also a good few meters away from the rest.

They all flopped down on the either the couch or the floor. For Yaya, she thought that the polished wooden floor was far more comfortable than the leather couch. The girls groaned in exhaustion as they threw their heads back, eager to ease the pain that was slowly consuming them as the seconds ticked. Kukai was obviously amused by this display. He cocked an eyebrow, his fascination clearly showing for the world to see. Utau had growled again in disapproval.

"No, Kukai, we will not tell you why we seem so exhausted when were literally energizer bunnies just a while ago" she threw her head back again, her gorgeous blonde hair bobbing up and down a little bit as she did so. Still, Kukai was unnerved, and, if possible, more amused than ever. His curiosity had been overwhelming, really, but he thought he should let this one slide for now. He decided to shrug it off and inform the ladies of the guys' current location. When he received no audible (or coherent) response from the girls, he quickly jogged to the game room. He gave out his supposed status report, and soon enough, all of the guys were ambling towards the living room, eager to see the girls. It was Ikuto's head who first poked inside the living room.

"Hello, ladies" he said in what people deemed a "suave" voice. Amu and Utau rolled their eyes. He strolled casually over to Amu, winking at Nagihiko in the process as if hinting him about his next actions. Nagihiko quickly acknowledged his signals, nodded to Kairi, who also bobbed his head in return. The guys gave each other their respective hints. They all understood and immediately got to their positions. Ikuto slumped next to Amu, while Kukai sat on the closest armrest of the couch to Utau. Nagihiko sat by the floor near Rima, pretending to examine the shopping bags she had. Kairi sat next to Yaya and engaged in a pleasant conversation with her. Tadase also sat next to Yaya but did not say much.

"You look hot…like…like…_rape material_" Ikuto whispered into Amu's ear. She jumped up.

"P-Pervert!" she accused. She glared menacingly at him and Ikuto knew he hit a spot. That was fast. Amu was clad in a dark blue tank top, a white hoodie over it. She sported shorts that stopped by her thigh and a blue, high top Nike. When Ikuto only grinned at her after her outburst, she stomped her foot.

"It's _true_. You _are _rape-"

"Shut up! Shut the hell up!" she jeered. Vexed, Amu growled and stomped her way out of the house to the backyard. She had tears streaming down her face by the time she got to the poolside—she didn't know why. It was just a natural reaction her body had elicited. It was rather embarrassing, given the fact that she was supposed to be _used _to Ikuto's perversions, though she could not find the strength to suppress her humiliation and frustration. She growled. "Pervert…" Amu muttered quietly to her own. She kicked off her shoes and dipped her feet on the cool water.

"Amu? Amu?" she heard a voice. She knew who it was. She did not bother to turn around, but she quickly wiped her tears. In a swift motion, she managed to splash some water on her face and appeared to somewhat look refresh. She fought for an impassive face and was successful enough to release (in full power) _Cool and Spicy_. "Amu! There you are!"

"So?" said her supposed hidden self. Amu cheered for herself mentally.

"I…" Ikuto sat next to Amu, threw away his shoes, and mimicked her actions. He made gentle waves with his feet. "I don't know…" he shrugged, nonchalant. Amu felt her eye brows twitch in annoyance. He had deliberately insulted her and that was all he could say. She did not respond; instead, she remained as silent as she could. "Amu, c'mon, don't do this to me!" Ikuto pouted, mentally slapping himself for going overboard with his comments. When Amu still gave him the cold shoulder, he almost jumped in the pool.

* * *

Nagihiko was peeking from behind the thick leaves of a plant. He crouched low behind the pot, careful not to attract Amu's attention. He cursed himself for agreeing to this bet, but he knew it was futile to back out now. Trying as best as he could not to make a sound, he knelt in front of the clay container and tried to make out the distant voices of the teenagers. His brows met in concentration. He followed Ikuto, after the latter chased Amu. His excuse? _Bathroom! _As lame as it sounds, it actually worked, and the gang (or _girls_) didn't suspect him of anything.

_What have I gotten myself to?_ He asked himself. He cursed silently when a ladybug flew atop his nose and tickled it. He almost sneezed.

* * *

Kukai was leaning on the armrest for support now. His green orbs were staring intently on the wooden floor, brows slanted in confusion. His breath was shallow, yet deep at the same time, and his heart was thumping uneasily inside his ribcage. He crossed, uncrossed, and crossed his arms again repeatedly like a mantra. Luckily for him, the blonde beauty beside him was too tired to snap at his behavior.

"Yaya, let's go up; I'm beat" Rima commented, standing up. Yaya rose to her feet as well, effectively ending the conversation with Tadase and Kairi. Before the two girls reached the foot of the stairs, the small blonde craned her neck to the side and glared at the green-haired lad. "You, bring my bags upstairs. And you;"—she turned to Tadase—"bring _her_ bag up. Pronto" she demanded. The aforementioned lads scampered to their feet and obliged to the blonde's requests, leaving Kukai and Utau alone. Utau threw her head back, closed her eyes, and draped her arm over them to block the light.

"Ah, matte, Tadase!" Kukai suddenly stood up. Tadase turned his head back and shot the former an apologetic look. Kukai nodded in understanding as he sat back down on the chair. Before he finally gave up, the light bulb in his head made a loud 'ting' as it lit up. He grinned mischievously. Afterwards, he thought of his approach on the matter.

He _knew _this was suicide. And heck, the mere thought sent chills down his spine. But he was a guy. And to a guy, his pride matters more than his life **(1)**. He set his fears aside and braved a peek at Utau. She was exhausted, that was good, but after his comment, he was positive that in a flash, she would regain her energy and beat him to a pulp. That was his plan. He would insult her, have her beat him up, and follow her after she leaves him.

Oh, how wrong he was.

He found his voice deep within the pits of his stomach. He cleared his throat first, afraid of humiliating himself beforehand, and finally, mustered enough courage to speak up. Casually, as to avoid suspicion, he began the conversation in his usual way—he was going to do things on his own pace. "So…" he stated, deftly masking the uneasiness he felt with his usual jovial-bored tone.

"Don't talk to me; I'm tired" was Utau's immediate comeback. Kukai had expected this, but he did not back down. He leaned on the armrest farther, as to make things look more casual. He hummed, pretending to be in deep thought. He slowly sat back up. He then went for the kill.

It was part of the dramatization, really. It was unneeded. But he knew better than to suddenly state his obviously-careless-choice-of-words, without bracing himself for the worst first. Even though Kukai was technically an idiot, he wasn't stupid. He was idiotic when it comes to academics, but he does not lack social knowledge. Therefore, he made preparations first. But again, he was a guy. Guys and girls don't understand each other.

"Ne, Utau, you've been eating too much…" he began, a sly smirk forming on his face. Utau ignored the obvious insult behind his supposed innocent comment. She huffed quietly, without budging **(2)** an inch. Truth be told, she really did not want to talk. She just wanted to settle down in her room without anyone bugging her. But her legs wouldn't obey her—they were far too tired for their own good.

"I don't see your point" she replied. Much to her chagrin, this did not shut Kukai up. Obviously, she had no idea of what Kukai had in mind. "You know I'm a pig" she did not bother denying it, seeing no reason to do so.

"Oh, I know you are!"

"Then why bother pointing it out?" Utau scoffed. She turned her head to him, eyes screaming indifference. Kukai flinched inwardly, and struggled to hide it. He did not _want _to hurt her, but to hell with your woman when your pride was at stake, right?

"Just coz. You know, Utau, you really should lay off the food" Utau felt a vein pop on her forehead. Just one more…just one more and there will be bloodshed. It was _true _that she was and is still a pig. But that does not mean she isn't concern about her figure. No girl could ignore her body—it was just an ineffable fact written on stone long before the world had distinguished their genders.

So the thing is, when a girl is insecure about her figure, guys don't go telling them so. Utau, for one, was not a girl of many insecurities, but she was not the most confident woman in the world. It was true that she was headstrong and feisty, but she was still a softy at heart. In a sense, her songs represented her—as tough as they might seem, the true melody lies within the softness of her ballads. And because Utau was still a _girl _no matter what you do, she is still vulnerable to a guy's sharp tongue. What hurts most is that nasty comments (or at least, innuendo-filled comments) came from a guy who is rather very special to her.

She felt the stinging pain of tears welling in her eyes, but she knew better than to show her pathetic side. She bit back her tears, seeing no reason whatsoever as to cry. She tried to reason out that it was _just _her eating habits they were talking about, but her gut feeling said otherwise—she knew it could be worse. She bit her lip and braced herself for the worse—then it came.

"I think you're getting fat.." had Kukai not stated with a stupid grin on his face, she could have beat him to a pulp and regret it later on. But since a haughty smirk was etched on his features, she knew that she didn't have the heart to do so anymore—more like she no longer had the confidence. It was just _normal _to receive criticisms every now and then—what hurts was that he said it like it was nothing. Though she was tough now, it did not mean she was going to be forever. She could crack if hard blows such as his comment continue hitting her. It wasn't a first for her, but it hurts.

Sure Kukai had given his fair share of insults about her, but she knew that he meant it as a joke. Because five seconds after she beat him up, he would apologize about it, and compliment her. But this time was different—he wasn't joking. In fact, he was downright insulting her, and with a stupid smile on.

Utau stood up, finally having the energy. This, Kukai had managed to predict. Her next actions though, weren't what he foreboded. She _smiled_. But it was not a happy smile—the upward curve of her lips that supposedly reflects on happiness had not reached her eyes. It was a dry smile. What's more was that she appeared to be on the verge of crying…on the verge of _breaking_. But Kukai stood his ground—pride was at stake here.

"Oh…I see…" Utau muttered bitterly. Now Kukai was having second thoughts. She was not furious as how she was _supposed _to be. The lad slowly lost his smile. A frown was threatening to creep on his face, but he resorted to impassiveness. Being vulnerable because of a girl was the last thing he wanted. He crossed his arms over his chest—a move he shouldn't have made. He saw Utau hid her amethyst orbs gingerly behind her golden bangs. Trembling, she turned around and slowly made her way to the stairs. "I…I'm such a…a _pig_, right? D-Don't worry…I…" she did not bother finishing her statement. She ran as fast as she could upstairs.

And Kukai was left dumbfounded.

He did not _see _this one coming. She was supposed to bloody murder him, dammit! He might actually consider it more normal if she decapitated him—not run away from him! Things were going in a state of frenzy. It was _just _her body! Why did Utau break down like that, anyway? Thoughts like that had dominated Kukai's mind, and—much to his vexation—he could not find any reason good enough to justify as to why Utau had reacted that way.

His brows furrowed again, trying to comprehend what had happened. But before he had the time to process the events that had transpired (or the reason for the said events to transpire), he felt himself sprinting upwards, leaping two steps at a time. He reached the second floor in a matter of seconds, and was scanning the hall for any signs of a certain blonde. Unfortunately, the hall was too big—much to his dismay. _Stupid huge-ass shack! _He growled mentally.

Kukai did not know how long he had been walking around aimlessly, desperate to find the blonde whom he had hurt badly. It didn't matter, though, because to him, it was as if time has stopped just so he could freely search for her. His feet ached, yet it was numb at the same time. Sweat trickled down his face, as his brows slanted in frustration once more. Door after door, he yanked them open without any intentions of providing privacy to whoever was inside the room anymore. All he wanted to do now was to find the woman.

_Damn it! _He felt his anger boil up inside him. Frustrated beyond words, Kukai kicked a random door open. He was surprised to find the aforementioned lass curled up in a ball at the far south of the room, intently looking at him with shock clearly written on her features. Dried tears that once streamed down her cheeks stained her face, with new ones threatening to fall from her eyes. Her once silky blonde hair was now a mess, and her makeup (especially her concealer) had smudged, revealing her imperfections—the dark bags under her eyes that could rival L's, some blackheads and pimples that accumulated, and other facial problems that were results of lack of sleep due to her idol life.

"U-Uta—"

"What are you doing here?" she spat with venom obvious in her tone. Her glare was very sharp—like a blade of a katana. Kukai backed down a bit until his back reached the door. He heard a very faint whisper from the other side of the oak, and he somehow regained a tad bit of confidence. Even so, he knew he was no longer alone.

_I'm here, Souma-kun_. It was Tadase.

* * *

"Amu…" Ikuto glanced uneasily at the water of the pool. It reflected Amu so much, and I'm not just talking about the physical reflection. The water was like her emotions—so calm you could not figure out what was going on in her head. It was starting to scare ikuto.

"Hn…" what, _now _she is a _cold hearted bastard_?

"Amu..." he said in a tone that he knew Amu would blush at. He was right, though only a very faint tint of pink colored her cheeks. Somehow, Ikuto felt his manly pride being crushed. "Amu…will you just please look at me?" he begged, desperation coloring his tone. Amu flinched inwardly, but forced Cool and Spicy to take over.

She stole a small glance at Ikuto, then resumed her staring at the pool. Ikuto's jaw dropped. "Amu!" he exclaimed. "What the heck!?" he bit his tongue to keep him from cussing.

"You asked me to look at you, I did" she replied coolly, no hints of emotion whatsoever. She glared at the azure waters of the pool.

"Amu, please…uh…please _stare _at me…and please talk to me!" Ikuto felt as though he had to emphasize his every point. Amu scoffed softly, but obliged to his request anyway. She stared intensely at him—in fact, the glare was so intense that Ikuto thought she could see his soul. "Amu, why did you react that way?"

"What way?" she bit her lip to keep herself from smirking.

"You know what I mean, Amu. Why did you react that way when I teased you?"

"How do you expect _me _to react, anyway?"

"Indifferent!" Ikuto yelled, exasperated. "You're supposed to be _used to it_!"

Amu sighed—boys will be boys. "Ikuto, what if I called you a guy without penis, how would you feel?" had it been a normal conversation, Amu would have blushed ten fold and Ikuto would have doubled on the floor laughing his ass off. But it was not. Truth be told, nothing about this conversation was humorous; it was dead serious.

"Uh…insulted, I guess" Ikuto shrugged, for the lack of better term. Amu sighed once more.

"See? That's how I felt as well." she admitted, closing her eyes and biting her lips. Ikuto almost lost it.

"Embarrassed?"

"Ikuto, you don't call a girl 'rape material', and especially not in front of her friends" Amu calmly explained. "It's kind of an insult—sure we don't have egos as big as yours, but that doesn't mean we don't have one. And seriously, who wants to get called by that? Ikuto, I've heard a lot of perverted comments from you, maybe I'm just reaching my limit" she admitted. Her honey eyes darted to the moon that shone above them. A small, yet gentle smile graced her lips as she finally got to say what bothered her. "It just hurts…that's all. I don't…I don't want to be called…you know…" she glared unconsciously at the clouds that obscured the breath-taking sight of the crescent moon.

"I…I'm sorry…Amu…" Ikuto said sincerely. He hesitantly held Amu's left hand. When she did not make any attempt to retrieve it, he held tighter. "I guess I just wen…overboard. Sorry about it" he continued.

"It's fine…for now. Just don't do it again, okay?" she gingerly caressed his face with her free hand, and Ikuto leaned closer to her touch.

* * *

"Uh…that's score for Ikuto…I guess" Nagihiko murmured quietly as he took out a pen, and the copy Kukai gave him. He removed the cap of the pen and placed a checkmark next to number one, along with his comments and the score. He smirked after he read his comment and placed the materials back in his pocket.

Unbeknownst to him, a pair of sharp, golden eyes were staring at him.

* * *

"I asked you what you're doing here" Utau seethed, her amethyst orbs narrowing into deadly daggers. "Are you mute now, Souma?" Kukai felt himself wince at Utau's rather icy tone. But instead of backing down, he continued ambling towards her, his head held high.

"No" he answered.

Utau scoffed loudly. "That was a rhetorical question, stupid" she murmured. Kukai finally made his way over to her. He crouched in front of her and gingerly caressed her hands. He sighed softly and looked at her amethyst orbs with so much passion, it felt as though he could see past Utau's façades.

"Utau…I…I'm sorry…" he said, his jade orbs darting downwards in shame. "I didn't know it would affect you that much…I…I'm such a jerk, aren't I?" he admitted shamefacedly burying his head on his palm. "I'm sorry" he repeated, though his voice was somewhat muffled by his hand.

Utau sighed and exerted an effort to withdraw her hand. She uneasily glanced towards Kukai, but realized that she could not meet his gaze, so she settled on glaring at the nearby bougainvilleas instead. "Glad you know you are" she spat coldly, effectively masking all of her emotions. Kukai winced at her choice of words but kept his ground, anyway.

"Listen, Utau, will you…will you look at me!? I'm bearing my soul here, dammit!" Kukai yelled, feeling exasperated.

"I don't care!" Utau snapped back and unconsciously engaged in a feisty glare-war with Kukai. It didn't take long for them to both understand _exactly _what they were doing—and once they did, they laughed.

Just like that.

"You owe me ramen, Kukai" she smiled as she playfully punched Kukai, who was slowly sitting next to her. Kukai laughed heartily as he nodded his head.

"Sure, sure. So…truce?" he held his hand out for her to shake. Utau took it but applied more pressure than necessary. "Ow!"

"It's a little payback, you know" she smiled sweetly, as she continued crushing Kukai's hand.

* * *

_I'm not even sure that's technically compensation…_Tadase sighed as he closed the little gap of the open door. He jotted down something on the copy Kukai gave him and immediately went away, wanting to give the two, older teens privacy.

* * *

**Ikuto** – Nice move by Tsukiyomi. I say it was suave. Four points (coz he still made Amu-chan cry) -- (_this was what made him smirk)_

**Kukai** – Not bad for a "compensation" but I say it was rather too…well, _lacking in romance_. Four for the lack of sweetness from Kukai.

* * *

**Score sheet****: **

**1. When she walks away from you mad, follow her. **

Ikuto – 4

Kukai – 4

* * *

**(1) I don't know about you, but I think this is _absolutely _true. I can give you a LOT of guys I know who are like this...**

**(2) MetallicBlueFrog-neechan! LOL! I finally took your advice on this thing XD**

**Me: Whoo! I finally updated! Took me **_**forever**_**! But it was hell, no kidding! I've had 19 (believe it or not) major exams last week, now I have to deal with requirements. Though the latter doesn't bother me much, since I completed most of those requirements anyway. Anywho, I'm still happy I managed to write this. PS: sorry for any wrong grammars/spellings/quotation marks…and basically, anything **_**wrong**_**. I'm aiming to get at least 10 or 15 more reviews for this, so please entertain me. Your reviews a lot to me! Thanks! **

**Ikuto: Don't review -smirk-**

**Me: No reviews mean no Amuto :D**

**Ikuto: review with all your might...**

**Me: ^_^**


	9. Task two!

**Disclaimer: Must we ****really**** have to go through with this?**

**Ikuto: Of course—it's the ultimate slap in the face for a fan **

**Me: meanie. Because you said that, there's less AmuTo here…**

**Ikuto: I take it back**

**Me: Sorry Ikuto, you're too late :D anywho, we better give the other couples some screen time too, ya know?**

**Ikuto: Meanie –sulks in a corner- **

* * *

**DEDICATION: Though I haven't exactly said this to the author mentioned, I am dedicating this chapter to ****THE SKY'S BOUQUET****. Because of her, I've come to realize that I **_**am **_**indeed focusing on too much AmuTo, and I barely write about the other pairings. So for this chapter, despite the continuation of the bet, Amu and Ikuto will have less screen time **_**together**_**. Also, since I've dedicated this to The Sky's Bouquet, who is a die-hard RimaHiko (she said so), there will be **_**more **_**RimaHiko-moments here than any other pairs. **

**Hope you like it, The Sky's Bouquet-san! **

* * *

Kukai and Ikuto are on a tie.

Who will be the first to score more?

The battle gets more interesting as the two progresses. Stay tuned on Ikuto vs Kukai, the ultimate battle!

Round 2!

* * *

**When she stares at your mouth**

**Kiss her…**

* * *

**(Before you read, I'd like to inform you that what you are about to read is actually my THIRD try. Haha) **

* * *

Silence.

Firm silence grasped the atmosphere in a strong grip. No one dared break it. They were all frozen. Staring intently at the crumpled piece of paper, lying motionlessly on the table, they all looked asinine. Still, despite the obvious idiosyncratic ambiance they held, none of them knew how to move next. It was appalling, really, but they were guys.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The clock continued to sing **(1)**, but there was no sign of movement from either of them.

Then the door flew open.

Naturally, their heads whipped to the sound of the commotion, eyes widened as they found their little blonde cutie on the verge of murdering someone. Her eyes glinted with what they could predict as utter annoyance, and her entire posture was rigged. Her hands, balled into fists, were shaking vigorously on her sides. "You" she stated, her gold eyes narrowing into deadly slits. She directed her intense glare at a certain teen. "You conceited little bastard!" she spat.

"Little? That goes for you, shorty" he retorted, just as a smirk tugged on his lips. Rima Mashiro—clad in an off-shoulder bubbly blue t-shirt, matched with short denim shorts and white rubber shoes—fumed further, but she quickly composed herself.

"Dear Tsukiyomi-kun, I'm not here to argue with you—well, yes I am—but not on issues concerning my height, or me, for that matter. I'm here to discuss things about Amu" she crossed her arms over her chest, just as a challenging look graced her features. Rima raised a brow. Ikuto made an amused face.

"What about her?" he inquired.

Rima rolled her eyes. She strode over to Tsukiyomi, who was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed. "Do you really think I'm _that _stupid? I _know _what the hell you guys are up to" she began, her tone laced with acid.

"What _are _we up to then?" Ikuto mocked innocence.

"A bet" she said calmly.

"Okay, so what about our bet?" Ikuto admitted.

"You made Amu cry over a stupid bet! How pathetic can you be?" Rima seethed.

"First of all, short-_y_, it wasn't part of the bet for Amu to cry. All she needed to do was to be _mad_. Second of all, why does it matter? The problem was solved already" he shrugged, nonchalance evident in his voice and actions. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets and glared at Rima. "Shoo, shorty" he repeated, waving his hand in front of her in a dismissive manner.

"Damn you, Tsukiyomi! Just remember that you will pay for this!" she threatened as she pivoted, stomped away from the group, and slammed the door behind her. The boys all eyed Ikuto; he shrugged in return. Nagihiko shook his head and strode after Rima—he caught up easily.

"Rima, Rima, Rima! Rima-chan, wait up!" Nagihiko pleaded, gently tugging on Rima's elbow. The short blonde snorted, turned, and glared at the cross-dresser.

"What? I know you're involved in this, Fujisaki. I won't forgive anyone who made Amu cry" she forcefully retrieved her arm and crossed it over her chest. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I would gladly explain everything, Rima, but not in the hallway; especially not here when you're shouting so loud, and it's only six in the morning" he smiled. Rima rolled her eyes. Nagihiko led the way to his room; it was the same size as most of their rooms. The walls were painted white, with blue outlines at the bottom. The floor was a refreshing shade of bubbly blue. A captain bed was pushed at the north east corner. Parallel to it was a closet. By the window at the foot of the bed was a small study table. "Sit, sit" Nagihiko crooned, grinning.

Rolling her eyes, Rima complied and sat down next to Nagihiko at the bed. She crossed her legs and her arms. "Talk, Fujisaki" she said. The boy sighed.

"Rima-chan, this is…well, I know that the bet is stupid…" _straight to the point as always_, Rima thought, "And I know that Amu will most likely hate me for this…but, when I reconsidered things, I thought that, maybe this bet wasn't so bad after all. I mean, come to think of it, it actually strengthens their relationship…" he stole an uneasy peek at Rima, whose demeanor was stoic as always.

"Fujisaki…let me see the list of activities" she said after a while of tension-filled silence. Nagihiko sighed in relief. He brought out a copy from his pocket and handed it to her. Rima skimmed the paper silently. After a while, she averted her glare to the lad beside her. "Who was the dimwit who came up with this?" she mumbled. Nagihiko gulped.

"I-I…I'm not sure if I should say…" unconsciously, Nagihiko's orbs traveled to Rima's face. Tears sprouted from the corner of her eyes, as a sad look swept her face **(wtf? Sorry, I couldn't think of anything better -.-)**. Nagihiko looked away, "That's not going to work, Rima-chan. I know you're faking it"

Rima huffed. "Fine then. Choose: me, or the guy who came up with this?" she demanded.

"I'm not sure I know what you—"

"It's simple, Fujisaki. If you choose to keep that idiot's identity—which, I'm pretty sure is Souma; I just want to confirm—I'm not talking to you_ ever _again" she threatened. Nagihiko gulped again.

"Rima-chan, please understand…okay, so there's nothing to understand…" he trailed off. Rima glared at him.

Glare.

Glare.

Glare.

It was as if her golden orbs bore into his skull. Finally he couldn't take it anymore; he snapped, "Okay, so it was Kukai's idea" he said, massaging his temples as his eyes closed. He tilted his head away from Rima's glare. "I agreed because there was nothing better to do at that time. Anyway, like I said before, if this all turns out fine, their relationships would make a turn for the better. Besides, it's not like this will lead to a breakup or something-heck they aren't even together..._yet_" he shrugged, opening his eyes. When he peeked at Rima, he noticed how intent her stare was on the floor. Brows slanted, and a hand on her chin, it appeared as though she was deeply contemplating on the topic.

"Fine; you have a point. It's not like they would have a big fight because of this. I agree. But, there's a catch" she muttered. Nagihiko cocked a brow.

"What's that?"

"I'm in. No complaints" she stated and stood up. Gracefully, Rima strode out of the room. As her tiny hands twisted the door knob, she felt Nagihiko embrace her from behind **(2)**. Yelping slightly, Rima's face flushed. The boy placed his nose on the crook of her neck, and breathed in her scent.

"Thank you, Rima-chan" he smiled as he gingerly released the blushing Rima. She looked away and stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest.

"B-Betsuni" she said as she walked out **(3)**. Nagihiko couldn't help the boyish grin that spread on his face.

* * *

Yuiki Yaya barely noticed things like this. She doesn't really care about them. However, today's case was different—it's because _it _was practically shoving itself in front of her. It appalled her how human beings could be so fragile because of a few happenings. She was fragile herself, but she bounces back quickly. To her, brooding over something would not fix anything. No matter how much thought you put into something, as long as you do not act, nor even _attempt _to settle things, everything will remain as they are. That's what she has always believed, and she has great faith in that belief.

But today, Sanjo Kairi was betraying all her beliefs, and that was simply pushing her to her limits. She frowned, eager to give him a good punch or two, but her fists were tiny, she wondered if they were even enough to grab his attention upon impact, let alone hurt him. Crossing her arms over her chest, Yaya huffed, just as the younger boy drawled a sigh. "I saw it…it…I don't know. Somehow, it hurts…" he mused more to himself. Yaya rolled her eyes.

"Are you even talking to me?" she asked, annoyance boiling inside her. Yaya rarely had a sharp tongue (in fact, she doesn't). However, under certain circumstances, Cool n Spicy and Rima's influences would get the better of her; hanging out too much with those two had its pros and cons. "Why are you moping this early, Kairi-tan?" she continued, placing her face on her right palm. It was only eight; they haven't even had breakfast yet. Yaya wasn't as chirpy as she used to be. It was _that time_.

"Ah, sorry Yuiki-san, I was just…thinking" Kairi said uneasily, pushing his spectacles up, as he stood up, off the barstool, he walked over to the fridge. He grabbed a carton of milk, and sat by the counter once more. Yaya was on the barstool across him. "Want some?" he offered, gently shoving the milk to Yaya. She shook her head. Shrugging, Kairi retrieved the milk and gulped down some of it.

"You know, Kairi-tan, moping won't get you anywhere" she commented, staring at the ceiling fan above them. Kairi shrugged, this time, close to downing all of the liquid content.

"Whether I act or not, I wouldn't get anywhere, either" he replied. At this, Yaya became livid. She abruptly stood up and slammed her hands on the table.

"That's not it! I know it's hopeless, I _see _that! The point is: you're not trying to _move on_! You seriously think something good will come out of this sulking of yours? What, a leprechaun will suddenly pop out with a pot of gold? Fairy god momma will appear with a bippity-boppity-boo? Kairi-tan, this is so unlike you!" she screeched, feeling her stomach churn. As her brain registered the pain from the spasm, Yaya flopped down on the chair once more with a loud groan. She clutched her stomach protectively, trying to ease some of the pain, only to fail miserably. She groaned again. "This sucks. Boys are lucky" she whispered.

"Are you alright, Yuiki-san? If it's your stomach, I have some medicine for stomach ache and—"

"It's not like that, Kairi-tan. Sorry for worrying you. My stomach should be fine after a few minutes…or hours" she said softly. Kairi's concern only grew.

"If you say so. But if there's anything I could do, tell me" he offered.

"Well, there _is _something you could do…"

* * *

"I didn't know you like beaches, Kairi-tan" Yaya giggled, licking some of her cookies n cream ice cream **(WARNING: The author is currently drooling XD)**. Kairi smiled, pushing his glasses up.

"I don't…really. But somehow, I think I'm more relaxed now" he admitted, shrugging. He, himself, licked his chocolate-flavored ice cream. They walked side by side in the shore, allowing the gentle waves to hug their feet as they inched closer to the water. "Thank you, Yuiki-san" Kairi said after a while of silence.

Yaya smiled. "You're welcome, Kairi-tan."

"Yuiki-san, w-what is…what's so good about H-H-Hinamori-san?" he blushed, "I mean, I never knew what happened. One day, I just woke up and found out I like her…somehow, it's all very riveting. You love someone yet you don't know why. It's weird…very irrational…oh, sorry I was babbling" he said sheepishly. Yaya stared at the horizon, finishing the last of her ice cream cone. They stopped walking now, and the sun was shining beautifully. Somehow, it hurts. She didn't know what hurts—it wasn't her stomach or her head. It was a different kind of hurt; a hurt that was inexplicable.

She was silent, thoughtful. There were a lot of things going on in her head. Finally, she decided on what to say; she chose her words carefully as well. "Amu-chii…she's a great person. She's selfless and kind. She's a good role-model. Although she has difficulties when it comes to dealing with how she feels…she finds a way around things…somehow. Everything…everything falls into place for her. I don't know. She's kind, beautiful…a typical ideal woman…I'm sorry, Kairi-tan. I'm not good when it comes to things like this either" she smiled weakly, as she sat down on the sand. Kairi followed suit.

"Me neither…" he admitted. A comfortable silence cradled them afterwards. A few minutes passed, and a new question stirred up in Kairi's head. "Yuiki-san, what is love?" he asked.

"Love…it's a complicated emotion. Rima-tan always said _it's an explanation—in a way—created by the hypothalamus to justify a strong attraction one feels towards another person_. To Rima-tan she makes it seem as though it's nothing but a mere elucidation created by the brain. But to me, I know she means more than that. Love has neither regrets nor pain…" she smiled.

"Have you ever been in love?" he asked.

Maybe it was because of _that _that Yaya was acting weird. She suddenly sounded so mature. Or maybe it was because of those sappy romance novels Amu made her read to shut her up. Yaya wasn't so sure, but she suddenly became a wise man of love; a guru, in a sense. "No…I don't think so. I...novels, they always have a way of describing love. They say the first time you feel it, it's ineffable. It makes you feel as though you could do anything, yet remain vulnerable at the same time. It's like…uh…how should I put this? It's like you can become Superman, but there's still the kryptonite" she laughed feebly at her explanation. "Well that was lame"

"I don't think so, Yuiki-san. I think you're right. Your words suddenly made me rethink my feelings towards Hinamori-san. These past three years, I've always thought about how much I've fallen in love with her and all that…but, what you said right now…somehow, they made me think, am I really in love? It seems as though love is a complex concept to grasp, especially for a thirteen-year-old like me…but…in one way or another…I…I think…love is just around the corner for me" he smiled.

"Love doesn't always have to be in a couple-sort of way, you know. It could simply mean the affection you have towards someone. Whether it is towards a family member, a friend, a classmate, anyone; as long as you care for someone—and cares for them deeply—I think that's a good enough feeling to pass up as love" Yaya said, her eyes glinting against the bright light of the sun. Kairi glanced at her. A blush made it's way on his cheeks without his knowledge.

"You're right, Yuiki-san. I'm only 13, you're only 14. We're still too young for this. We've got a long way to go 'til we fully understand what love really is, and we've got our whole lives ahead of us." silence was again befallen upon them, as they both reflected on the conversation they just shared.

"That was…weird…" Yaya admitted; her voice a little bit higher. "That didn't sound like me at all!" she whined, back to her chirpy self. Kairi chuckled as he pushed his glasses up. He ate up the remaining cone as he shook his head.

"I agree…let's just keep this amongst ourselves, okay?"

"You're right!" Yaya nodded, determined. "They would most like tease us, ne? This should be a secret between us" she winked.

Kairi smiled. As he stood up and dusted the sands off his khaki shorts, he helped Yaya up and said, "Yuiki-san, we might have a long and painful journey in the world of love, but could you promise me one thing?" he asked, seriously.

"What?"

"That we would discover what love is together" he said.

Yaya smiled and held out her pinky. Using his right pinky, Kairi hooked their fingers together "I promise" she said. He smiled as he sealed their promise with a slight shake of their pinkies.

* * *

Hoshina Utau was furious. No, scratch that. She was livid. Her fists were rapidly clenching and unclenching as the scene unfolded before her. She wasn't one to show her jealousy, but in one way or another, she has the every right to be so. Before, she openly made her claim on her brother, daring any girl to be 100 feet near him. However, as time passed by, she realized that what she once stated as 'jealousy' was merely an 'over-protective-sister-syndrome', as _he _would put it.

And now _he _was making her jealous—the girlfriend-type of jealous.

She was enraged. She didn't like the feeling of jealousy; it made her feel as though she could kill anyone. Utau wished she had Iru with her—then things would be easier. Clenching her fists once more, she decided to huff, and vent all her frustrations on the piano. Utau furiously pressed the keys as she played Symphony 5 by Ludwig Van Beethoven. By the time the song was over, a horror-movie-aura filled the atmosphere around her. She glowered at the black and white keys of the grand piano. Nothing happened.

Sighing, the idol hit her head on the keys. The C Major notes echoed simultaneously in the room as her head pressed on them at once. She breathed an aggravated sigh once more as she pulled her head up. Closing her eyes, Utau gingerly began playing another song: Canon by Johan Pachelbel. As the notes echoed through the room, Utau felt her anger slowly dissipating with them. When she finished, she had a smile on her once frowning face. She tugged on the curtains, and the scene from the window was immediately gone.

With a gentle beam, she made up her mind: she was going to make Souma Kukai pay.

* * *

Rima and Nagihiko silently peeked behind the thick bushes that were lined up by the foot of the brick wall. Every once in a while, Rima would cuss and complain, while Nagihiko coaxed her. It went on like that for a while, until they heard the familiar voices of their targets. She bit her lip and uncapped the pen. "Okay…challenge number two, right?" she whispered, loud enough for Nagihiko to hear. Nodding, he slightly parted some of the leaves to get a better view. "You know this hiding place sucks" Rima chided.

From behind her, the purple-haired cross-dresser chuckled. "I need to hear them. I can't find any better hiding place than this and the pool" he pointed using his chin, which slightly hit the back of Rima's head. She muttered a silent 'ouch!' as Nagihiko apologized. After a while, he placed his head on her shoulders. "Shh, here they come" he said. Rima rolled her eyes, but peeked, nonetheless.

* * *

Amu ran a hand through her locks. She glared absentmindedly at the glimmering water of the pool, and gingerly bit her lip. Crossing her arms over her chest, Amu breathed a heavy sigh. Irritation was evident as she spoke "Now what?" she demanded, turning her gaze at the blue-haired lad who shrugged innocently in return.

"I just want to spend some time with you, Amu…" he smirked. Amu blushed—spending time with a smirking Ikuto never resulted in anything good. It would always, _always_, end up with too much blood in certain parts of the body—and I'm not just referring to the face. "Is that bad?" he asked, inching closer to her as he raised two arms up in mock surrender.

Taking a step back, Amu scoffed. She scowled at Ikuto, "Liar!" she accused. Ikuto bit back a smirk, though he failed miserably.

"You caught me, sweetie-pie. I'm planning to do something to you" he grinned wolfishly. Amu's face flushed.

"I-I-Ikuto, you p-pervert! You—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Amu-koi!" Ikuto chuckled, "_I _wasn't thinking of doing anything like _that '_til you pointed it out. Does that mean _you _want to do _it_?" he teased.

"I-I-I wasn't! I—"

"Who's the pervert now, Amu-koi?" he smirked. Amu stomped her foot hard. She huffed and pouted.

"Stop cutting me off, will you?" she shrieked. Ikuto presented both of his hands in a mock-surrender pose (somehow, it feels as though this pose was suddenly Ikuto's trademark pose). Amu breathed a sigh of relief, then she inhaled once more. "Alright, what do you want to do with me?"

"I have a favor to ask" Ikuto said seriously.

"Okay, shoot. But if it's something bad I swear—" Amu said.

"Don't worry, Amu, it's not going to hurt you! In fact you'll even _like _it" Ikuto whistled.

"Alright, fine. What is it?" the pinkette huffed, knowing she lost.

"I need you to stare at me" he deadpanned.

"That seems normal—excuse me?" she shrieked.

"You heard me. Just stare. At my lips." he smirked.

Stare.

Smirk.

Stare.

Smirk.

Stare.

Kiss.

Shocked.

Enjoys.

Giving in.

Pulls back.

Blushes.

Smirks.

It was routine.

"See? I told you you'd love it" Ikuto chuckled, and quickly dashed away from the scene, just in time to avoid a sharp object being chucked in his direction, which apparently came from nowhere. Katanas don't lurk around this vacation house after all.

* * *

"That was suave" Nagihiko complimented, wiping some sweat off from his forehead.

"No, that wasn't!" Rima countered, "Was he even allowed to do that?"

"Well, technically, yes. It wasn't stated in the rules."

"There are no rules, you dimwitted cross-dresser!" Rima shrieked.

"My point exactly. Say what you want, cutie-pie, but I _still _think that was suave" Nagihiko confirmed. Rima's raised her brow in incredulity.

"Seriously? You know, I'm beginning to think Tsukiyomi's rubbing off on you"

"Ain't I suave" Nagihiko mumbled. The blonde scoffed.

* * *

The night befell upon the teens faster than they thought. Kairi and Yaya were already asleep due to exhaustion (they ended up playing in the beach). After the meal, the teens gathered up in the living room in two groups: the girls and the boys. The boys were discussing the bet, while the girls were discussing the sudden turn their love lives made. _Curious and curiouser_, it seemed that there was just some peculiar plan brewing up in the lads' ineffable minds, and it was the girls who were being affected. Naturally, Rima kept her mouth shut.

"Hey Utau, has Kukai been making weird moves on you? Like he's some sort of stalker or something?" Amu wondered, swinging her feet back and forth as she sat on the sofa, in the middle of Rima and Utau. The idol shrugged; is there every any topic that does not concern her _and _revolves around the certain brown-haired moron? Amu took her indifference as a sign that something was wrong. "Are you okay? Did something happen between you two?" she asked.

Utau wanted to vigorously shake her head (and she almost), but she knew (and stopper herself just in time) that doing so would arouse further suspicion from Amu and the shorty next to her. So the idol decided to just gingerly crane her neck from left to right in, what she hoped, was a not-so-melodramatic manner. Unfortunately, it did not turn out smoothly as how she wished. "So there _is _something wrong" Amu deduced.

"B-betsuni!" Utau stammered. "There's nothing wrong, Amu, don't mind me and the mindless idiot." she seethed, recalling the previous events earlier that day. Utau snapped when Amu smirked at her. "Okay fine, so there's something wrong, okay?" she finally admitted.

"Tell me about it" Amu ordered. Utau rolled her eyes but complied.

"Earlier—"

"You're jealous!" the girls gushed. Utau was taken aback at how quickly they found out. When the boys directed their gazes at them, they huddled together as if to convey the message (through their body languages) that they were not spilling anything. The boys merely shrugged, and returned to their previous conversations.

"How did you know?" Utau jeered in a hushed whisper, vexed that her cover was out already.

"It's impossible to miss when you're glaring at Kukai as you speak" Amu giggled. The idol huffed and craned her neck to stare at the two girls instead.

"There, I'm no longer staring. So anyway, earlier today, I saw him with another girl. The rich bitch who lives in the mansion—and I mean America mansion **(4)**—a few blocks away from us." she huffed.

"They were _just _talking, right?" Amu asked.

"What? No! They were—you know what, let's go upstairs, I have a feeling this won't be too good if mister-I-can-flirt-with-any-bitch-in-the-beach hears this" Utau scoffed and led the way to her room on the second floor. As the ladies sat on the most comfortable position they could have (Amu lolled lazily on the bean bag and Rima on the floor), Utau made sure to lock the doors, just in case someone(s) might suddenly barge in. She then settled on sprawling comfortably on her bed.

"Alright, what happens next?" Rima demanded, eyeing her fingernails for any signs of unwanted dirt on it. With a satisfied nod, she directed her golden eyes towards the young idol, whose own violet gaze was unwaveringly settled on her own pair of ten fingernails, inspecting it in the same manner (and for the same purpose) as Rima's.

"Okay, so here's what happened. So I woke up at around seven today and was in a pretty good mood. I decided to open up my—don't you dare cut me off, shorty, I want to be specific" Utau warned when she forebode a bored complaint out of the aspiring actress. In return, the short blonde clamped her mouth shut and huffed silently through her nose (which didn't make much noise anyway, so her point was not clearly conveyed). "Anyway, I decided to open up my curtains for fresh air, and that's when it all happened" she said.

"What _did _you see?" Amu asked, genuinely curious as to what stupidity her pretend-brother could have done that angered (one of) her best friend(s).

_**Flashback**_**(a/n: I think this is an easier way of story telling, and besides, many authors do it too. This is in Utau's point of view.) **

As I pushed back the curtains that blocked my view of the outside world, I vaguely caught the conversation that was taking place below. The key word there is vaguely. It wasn't that they were speaking in hush whispers (then it would be impossible for someone two stories above them to even know there were people below), but they weren't speaking in the loudest tones either. I was not one to heed attention on unnecessary matters that did not even concern me, until (at least) I heard Souma's voice. Makes me wonder, now, why I had _not _registered that before, when clearly, his voice was louder than his companion.

Dainty feet struggled to remain on the cold metal flooring of the balcony. Whether or not I was being too poetic (or possibly speaking in a third-person manner) doesn't matter. I crept wordlessly (and soundlessly) towards the end of my balcony and looked below. It still has not occurred to me yet that I am being too cautious for someone who was at the second floor. Yet.

My violet eyes scanned the general area below, and sure enough, there was Souma. But it was not the sight of him that made my heart pound and possibly somersaulted. It was the sight of _him _with a _girl. _They were huddled together, and from what my peripherals could make out, they were a tad bit too _close_ to be friendly. The girl even had her head on his shoulder blade! It was repulsing! Enraging! Absolutely infuriating! Throw in a couple more adjectives under the same meaning as pissed, and that still would not have sufficed to how I feel right now.

My chest hurt. My breath was unsteady. And naturally, there was the uncanny feeling in the pit of my stomach that made me want to go to the kitchen, grab the nearest _butcher's _knife I see, and maniacally chop that girl (and Souma even!) to pieces. I gripped the bar tighter out of frustration, and took deep breaths. Despite the chilly breeze the ocean wafted, I was sweating profusely, and I'm positive the (as of now, nonexistent) summer heat had nothing to do with it.

I am not jealous. I am not jealous. I am not jealous.

Right. And the dinosaurs were really wiped out by the Tezuka Zone. **(on my defense, they were! -5-)**

**(And the flashback ends there—so does Utau's POV!)**

Amu giggled heartily whereas Rima contented herself with a sly smirk of hers. Utau growled and grabbed the nearest pillow, firmly pressing it against her then flushed face. She rats her heart out to these girls and they take amusement out of her misery. Was it so wrong to feel "betrayed" every once in a while? Although in retrospect, she had no reason to, nor 'right' in technical terms. They were not dating, after all. There was neither an official confirmation nor a contract of some sort, and all there was, was mutual understanding. Sheer mutual.

Which Utau would have been pondering over and over on normal days. The "mutual" part, Utau could understand. It was the "understanding" concept which she could not grasp. Was there even understanding to begin with? Looking back, their supposed "relationship" had always been shrouded by arguments, and more arguments. They would bicker on a daily bases—or rather, _she _would argue with him, whereas he would either raise his hands in mock surrender, or shake his head with a mirth.

Then it had finally hit Utau. The revelation was rather unnerving, too. _She _was the reason why their relationship had never progressed! At the very least though, it wasn't necessarily stagnant either, but that was beyond the point. Utau would always bring forth their arguments. Kukai was more of the "peacemaker", or the laidback one, depending on the case (mostly the latter, though). But anyway, it was always Utau who initiates a fight, or dispels whatever 'atmosphere' there would be when they both finally have the guts to make some advances.

She moaned exasperatedly when she realized this. "I'm such a bitch. This is all my fault." She said. The idol heard a mocking scoff, followed by a 'Duh'.

"Glad you know, honey" said Rima, who stood up and dusted her shorts. The shorter blonde walked towards the door and placed a hand on the knob, "listen, your love life is your concern and it really is none of my business, but a little tip for you. Once you get over your denial, the rest comes in easily and naturally. Leave the guy be for a while. If there really is something 'mutual' about you two, I'm sure he would have some thinking to do so as well. That's it."

"Wow. Awesome advice there, Rima" Amu grinned and jabbed a 'thumbs-up' towards the blonde, who rolled her eyes in return.

"Oh, and one more thing—you guys would might want some alone time for yourselves, too. Trust me, you need it" and she twisted the door knob and walked out. Amu giggled briefly before standing up herself, and making her way over to her friend.

"She's right, you know. I think it's high time you and Kukai take this relationship a notch up."

* * *

Utau was glaring furiously at the horizon.

She was contemplative. She did not know whether or not she was making the right decision here. The breezy summer evening hugged her intimately, caressing her skin with almost-chilly winds. She enjoyed the feeling up here. It was now midnight and everyone was asleep. She basked in the silence of her current aloneness, enjoying the time it gives her to think and clear her thoughts.

She leaned against the metal railing of the rooftop, ignoring the tingling sensation it gave to her porcelain skin. Looking outwards with unfocused orbs, she began to think of her faults and flaws concerning her relationship with Kukai.

The door creaked open and Utau nearly jumped out of her skin. "Who's there?" she asked sharply, glaring at the general direction of the intruder. The rooftop was illuminated solely by the light coming from one light post Utau opened. It was the one right above her, and it did not cover much perimeter. "H-Hey, it's me. Calm down."

It was Kukai.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be asleep already?" Utau scoffed and leaned upon the railing once more.

"Right back at you," when Utau glared at him, Kukai raised both hands in his seemingly trademark stance around the blonde. "Whoa, easy there, tiger. Calm down. I came to do some thinking."

"Wow, you're actually putting those gears to work" Utau whispered sardonically, though Kukai caught it. He rolled his orbs.

"Well whatever…" he trailed off, suddenly in deep thought. Utau was so as well. "You know…Utau…I…uh…have been…err…"

"Thinking—yes, apparently, and we've established that"

Kukai ignored her disdainfulness, "Look, I was thinking that maybe…we should…take this somewhere…?" he sounded unsure, reluctant. Almost as though he did not want to say it in the first place. Utau was hinted on where this was going, but she kept silent about it. Instead, she raised a skeptical brow at him.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what it is!" Kukai snapped and glared at Utau. Taken aback by his sudden mood swing, Utau fell silent, allowing Kukai to deliver his speech thereafter. "This relationship! It's—it's! Ugh! For the lack of better term: _sickening_. Don't get me wrong. It's just that—we've been at this for far too long with barely any progress! It's so—aren't you sick of it?"

Utau finally recovered, "Sick of it? If only _someone _would actually have enough _guts _to make some moves then perhaps we would be going _somewhere_!" she retaliated. Kukai glared. This was so far, their worst argument yet.

"Right back at you, honey. If only _someone _would not be so much of a _bitch _to ignore the obvious _advances _then perhaps we might be going _somewhere_" he snapped back. Utau glowered. She was glaring at the general direction of Kukai, though her eyes were not necessarily focused on one thing in particular—at least she thought so. She was immersed with her thoughts so much, that when Kukai suddenly ducked in and captured her lips passionately, the breath was literally knocked right out of her.

His kiss was not very gentle. It was firm, demanding, almost rough. But it did not hurt. It was _just _firm, and nothing more. He did not coerce her into any other activities other than what he was doing right now. He did not even hold her. He was just standing there, moving his lips against her still ones. Utau was too shocked to comprehend, much less response.

It was after a while before Kukai pulled away with a furious glare and a bitter smirk. "Heh, I hope that changes everything" and he walked away briskly afterwards. Utau hid her orbs with her bangs, her mind still hazy from the kiss.

* * *

"I'd wager…around a five…?" Kairi.

"Give and take?" Tadase.

"Yeah, more or less." Kairi.

"How about…four-point-five…?" Nagihiko.

"Butt out! That was awesome. Five it is" Kukai.

"Err, I'll think about—stop pressuring me!" Tadase.

"We're not. Five?" Kukai.

"Wait, let's put this into consideration—did she respond?" Ikuto.

"Err…" Kukai.

"Aha! It was a _give_. Four-point-five" Nagihiko.

"What? You're all so biased." Kukai.

"Shut up. They gave me a three-point-five." Ikuto.

"I told Rima it was suave." Nagihiko.

"And it _was_." Ikuto.

"Well, someone has to make more progress than the other!" Kukai.

The boys gathered in Ikuto's bedroom. Earlier, Tadase managed to blend in the shadows amidst Kukai and Utau's little moment. He saw everything with his blessed 20/20 vision, though he had to squint a bit, as the darkness hindered his sight the slightest. Kairi, having woken up a little before midnight, decided to join in.

After the "display", the boys went down at Ikuto's room, much to the latter's chagrin. "I don't get why you went to my room, though," shrugged Ikuto.

"You don't have to. We just go here." jested Kukai

"Whatever. So what's the decision?"

"Unanimous!" Kukai cheered.

"Sort of…" Tadase mumbled. "It's a four-point-five."

"Whatever, I can do better next time"

And Ikuto vowed he _will_.

* * *

**You guys have no idea how sorry I am. Really. I'm sorry. But anyway, merry Christmas!**

**(1) 'Clock continued to sing' lol. Who was the clock mimicking? Ke$ha? LOL.**

**(2) I was planning on using "she felt a pair of strong arms snake around her waist from behind" but I think that phrase is **_**way **_**too overused, so I opted for something simpler, but mean the same nonetheless. **

**(3) Think of her as Taiga with Ryuuji, but blushing as though she was with Kitamura-kun. :D **

**(4) America mansion, something I just coined. Some of you might not be aware of it, but a 'mansion' in Japan refers to blocks of apartments. I inserted the word 'America', because in one way or another, Japanese have always had some sort of inferiority complex to the Americans. So by putting it together, it means that Utau is referring to the girl having such a huge-ass mansion (which can also mean that Utau is somewhat feeling nothing compared to the girl). **

**(5) Prince of Tennis OVA: Futari wa Samurai. The part where Tezuka was using the Zone and well, you know what happens. :) **

**Me: Finished it, at last! WHOO! Koe wo kikasete**

**sunao ni nareba kitto **

**Wakariaeru hazu sa**

**Kokoro wo hiraite**

**Koe wo kikasete**

**Aruite kita michi wa bokutachi ni totte kitto**

**Taisetsu na step sa sono mirai e no. GO BIGBANG! DAE SUNG, TAE YANG, T.O.P., SEUNG RI, and G-DRAGON, I LOVE YOU TO BITS 3 **

**Ikuto: wtf?**

**Me: Nal ddara haebwayo Nal ddara haebwayo Nal ddara haebwayo Ireoke. LOL. 2NE1 hwaiting! XD**


End file.
